When it comes to Bollywood, few festivals have received the prominence and play of Holi. From Sholay to Kati Patang, from Darr to Silsila, films have used the festival of colours to showcase a plethora of moods and situations. However, Holi is a huge celebration not only onscreen, it is a fetival that Bollywood loves in real life too. When it comes to Holi celebrations, Bollywood parties remain legendary whether they were hosted at RK Studio by the legendary Raj Kapoor or at the Bachchan residence and now by Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi. RK Studio's Holi parties At a time when Holi has just been limited to events and other paid social gatherings, Raj Kapoor's legendary RK Studio Holi parties were undoubtedly one of the most iconic Bollywood events. The celebration was not just limited to the Kapoors but was known to draw big names from the industry. In the past, Raj Kapoor hosted star-studded Holi parties at RK Studio and the vibrant atmosphere comes through even in monochrome photos from the time. The celebration was all about colors, music, and dance. Celebrities not only played with colours but also threw each other in water-filled tubs. Year after year, the celebrations were attended by Kapoor family members and some prominent figures in the industry like Shammi Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Premnath, Sitara Devi, Amitabh Bachchan, Nargis, Rajendra Kumar, Nirupa Roy, and others. The Kapoor babus, Krishna Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Geeta Bali and Babita too were seen in some photo videos and photos. Here are some RK Studio's Holi bash photos from Express Archive: In November 2024, Ranbir Kapoor - who was a child at that time - mentioned his memory of those parties and called it 'a frightening one'. "I was really young, so it was a very scary environment for me. Everyone was coloured in black and many other colours, sabko aise truck mai faika jaaraha hai (everyone was being thrown into trucks). You might have better memories, I guess,” he said at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), where he was interviewed by filmmaker Rahul Rawail. Rahul Rawail also added, "You were right about that, sab kaale neele peele hote the (Everyone used to be soaked in different colours). It used to be a day-long celebration." Karisma also shared her memories, "Bachpan mein, actually Holi is one of my favourite festivals. Mera pura bachpan, I used to go to RK studios for my Dadaji's Holi parties. Ranbir also added, "What I have heard is that, not just the actors and actresses, it was everybody in the film industry. Even the people working in camera, production, everybody used to come and celebrate together.” See some photos from RK Studio's Holi party: In the year 2022, giving a glimpse of the same, Neetu Kapoor shared a rare throwback video that took us inside the celebrations. The video featured Raj Kapoor, his wife Krishna Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor's wife Neila Devi. Neetu Kapoor was seen holding her son Ranbir Kapoor while Rishi Kapoor danced with a group of people. "When we were complete when there was love warmth. happy holi (sic)," wrote Neetu. See a rare throwback video from RK Studio's Holi bash: View this post on Instagram A post shared by neetu Kapoor. Fightingfyt (@neetu54) Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan’s Holi celebration A clip of young Shah Rukh Khan convincing a young Gauri Khan to dunk herself in a pool of coloured water is a clip that goes viral every year around the time of Holi. The throwback video of SRK’s Holi party shows him with filmmaker Subhash Ghai and Karan Johar. SRK was also seen dancing with David Dhawan, Chunky Pandey and others in the clip. Now, SRK’s Holi celebrations is limited to his meet-greet with his fans for a couple of minutes at his Mumbai bungalow, Mannat. See old viral video and photos from SRK-Gauri Khan's Holi party: Bachchans' Holi celebration Amitabh Bachchan’s Holi celebration too was a fun-filled one. The actor, his wife Jaya Bachchan, and kids Abhishek Bachchan and Shweta Bachchan were seen enjoying the festival of colour and several photos photos were shared on social media almost every year. Big B's Holi parties also hosted his politician friends like Amar Singh. A few years ago, Amitabh took to his blog and to recall the Holi revelry on the lawns of Prateeksha ‘from early morning till the late hours of the night." He posted, "Many celebrate still .. but at Prateeksha it has been quite a while .. deaths in the family .. conditions .. all have added to the reluctance .. but the spirit remains .. as have the rituals .. may you all bury your differences .. may there be tranquility and peace .. and the reason for the joy be multiplied each day among all .. HOLI HAI." The Bachchan family's Holi is now just about family time with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aaradhya Bachachan and Navya Naveli Nanda, Agastya Nanda and others. Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi’s Holi party Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi's Holi party is the place to be in Bollywood today. The couple still aims to host small gatherings for their close family members and friends and we also get to see Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Dandekar in attendance. Ambani Holi Bash In the recent past, Isha Ambani-hosted 2020 Holi bash saw many known Bollywood stars like Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline Fernandez, Vicky Kaushal, Armaan Jain and Anissa Malhotra, Shilpa Shetty, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Madhuri Dixit Nene among others. Over time, these Holi parties have transitioned into more intimate family gatherings.
