From Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… to Taare Zameen Par, these movies captured the most iconic moments on Diwali

The festival of lights, Diwali is almost here. As the air is filled with the aroma of traditional ‘mitha’ and fireworks (unfortunately), Bollywood too is gearing up for festivities, with the trademark Diwali party already underway. On screen, the festival has been depicted in all its fervor, replete with huge decorations, designer clothes, customary song and dance and much more. Apart from this, some iconic Bollywood scenes have become synonymous with the festival and today, we revisit some…

But obviously, this Karan Johar family saga had to top our list. It starts when Rahul and Rohan’s (SRK and Hrithik) paternal grandmother tells Rohan why Rahul left home and it was his last Diwali with them. Soon, the scene goes into flashback and the Raichand mansion is lit up in all its glory as mom Nandini (Jaya Bachchan) gives aarti to everyone. Suddenly Rahul, in dramatic KJO style, makes an entry in his private jet in a blacker look, even though his mom already has a hunch about his arrival! A classic, we must add.

Under the umbrella of strict disciplinarian Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan), Gurukul has remained nothing but a glorified prison for his students. Enter charming music teacher Raj Aryan (SRK) and the winds of the institution begin to flow backwards as the students begin to explore the outside world and fall in love, much to Narayan Shankar’s dismay. Things come to a head on Diwali when the young lovers shed their inhibitions and profess their love in front of the world, even as SRK plays the song ‘duniya mein kitni hai nafratein’ on his dhol.

A far cry from the usual Diwali fanfare, this one was harsh and heartbreaking. Raghu, formerly a simple, local Marathi boy in Mumbai, becomes a feared gangster, even as his middle-class family struggles to come to terms with this transition and more or less disown him. However, Raghu, who lives underground for most of the year, visits his family every Diwali and on such an occasion, shows his mother that he is wearing a ‘pachaas tola sone ki chain’. Finally, at the end of the film, completely fed up with all his suffering, he asks his mother to shoot him and give him ‘mukti’, ending a miserable life.

This is special since children are usually the most excited for festivals like Diwali – with lights, delicious food and lots of masti. However, life is not easy for 8-year-old Ishaan Awasthi, who suffers from Dyslexia but remains undiagnosed, making him the object of ridicule at school. At home, while his younger brother and mother support him, his father thinks he is just avoiding studies and decides to send him to boarding school. Knowing that he will be gone soon, Ishaan spends Diwali at home crying in a corner, unable to make his family understand that he is not acting. At school, he meets Arts teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan) and life finally starts to make sense again.