As the carnival of spring comes around, here are the different ways Hindi cinema has looked at Holi...

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Holi 2020: 10 ways Bollywood has looked at the festival of colours

Holi, the festival of colours, has been varyingly interpreted in Hindi films. In most movies, it’s an excuse for lavish song-and-dance. In others, it’s a site of rupture — colour and chaos invading the whiteness of social norm. There are cheery scenes, playful scenes, and scenes doused in darkness.

Team CE

Updated:10th Mar, 2020 at 12:23 PM

1. Jwar Bhata (1944) - Besides announcing Dilip Kumar to the world, Amiya Chakrabarty’s Jwar Bhata (1944) is said to include the first iconic Holi scene of Bollywood.

An elderly man goes to a village to fix his grandson’s wedding. He gets sprayed by a gang of frolicking girls. One of them turns out to be of immediate interest.

2. Phagun (1973) - This Dharmendra-Waheeda Rahman classic is woven entirely around Holi.

The song ‘Piya sang khelo holi…’, composed by S.D. Burman and voiced by Lata Mangeshkar, is the first in a long tradition of festive hits.

3. Sholay (1975) The Ramesh Sippy film` definitive Holi pick.

From the iconic foreshadowing of ‘Holi Kab Hai`?”, to the brilliant staging of the song itself, to the deliberate buildup to the action scene, Sholay masterfully tapped into the many rhythms of Holi.

4. Sisila (1981) - Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri and Sanjeev Kumar returned for another Holi classic.

Musicians Shiv-Hari based ‘Rang Barse Bhige Chunar Wali’ on the Keherwa taal of Hindustani classical music. But the merry-making doesn’t begin before a confessional exchange between the characters.

5. Holi (1984) - In Ketan Mehta’s college drama, restlessness brews as a bunch of hostel-dwellers are denied a holiday on Holi.

The ensuing anarchy in the college``` is tallied with the disruptive appeal of the festival.

6. Darr (1993) - Yash Chopra’s stalker-thriller featured a darkly memorable Holi scene.

Daubed in paint, Shah Rukh Khan looks at Juhi Chawla. As he smears her face in red, she winces and screams — a gesture of affection refurbished as assault.

`7. Damini (1993) - Released the same year as Darr, Damini was another film that looked at Holi as an arena of fear and assault.

A woman (Meenakshi Sheshadri) desperately tries to stop an ongoing rape in Damini. Her calls for help are drowned out by the din of festivities.

8. Mohabbatein (2000) - Aditya Chopra’ film followed the efforts of Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) to tenderize Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan).

This culminates in a number of mini face-offs, including one built around the exchange of tika (red mark).

9. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) - The song ‘Balam Pichkaari’ has endured more than the film.

Director Ayan Mukerji positions it cleverly, letting Naina (Deepika Padukone) find her wings before realizing she has to let Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor) go.

10. Kabir Singh (2019) - Preeti (Kiara) is molested during the Holi celebrations. Kabir (Shahid Kapoor) gets a call and rushes to the spot.

There’s no flashback; instead, director Sandeep Reddy stays with Kabir’s broiling anger — seething as he interrogates a bunch of eye witnesses.

The scene isn’t remotely concerned about Preeti, though. She’s just marked territory for Kabir, a territory that’s now been invaded.

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