TV Stars' WORST Holi Memories

Holi is a fun festival. But just that once in a while things can go wrong when it is played with unsafe colours, or when people get splattered with water ballons.

Some television actors shared their worst Holi experiences.

Daljeet Kaur

I stopped playing Holi after someone in my housing society (in Pune) put silver paint on me. It took almost a week to be completely removed from my body. It had a distinct smell and I was feeling very uncomfortable because of asthma.

After this unpleasant experience, I stopped playing Holi but as a shagun (married woman), I apply gulaal (red powder) during the festival. I enjoy the festival but I am not enthusiastic about the colour part.

I simply love Holi and go completely crazy on that day. But all the masti (mischief) is with family and friends. Amongst our cousins we play Holi with greasepaint.

I had one unpleasant Holi experience during my school days when the dry colour went into my eyes. My face got swollen like a football and my eyes were sunken. It took three days for the swelling to completely subside with medication.

The following year I didn't play Holi because my mom stopped me. Now I play, but take extra care of my eyes.

As a child, I didn't enjoy the festival of Holi. Strange-looking multi-coloured human beings were a sight that put me off. Often the celebrations were wild and verging on hooliganism. In fact, no one in my family liked the festival so we used to take our family vacation around Holi time to avoid the colour.

One year we were on one such holiday in Goa and were driving along peacefully when just as we reached our hotel, a group of revellers stopped our car, forced open the car door, dragged us out and splashed colour on all of us.

It was their idea of fun but we were taken by surprise.

The most embarrassing part was, we entered the swanky five-star hotel looking like multi-coloured baboons!

Unfortunately, the entire purpose of our leaving the city of Mumbai on Holi to avoid being coloured was lost, and my belief that the revelry borders on hooliganism was re-affirmed.

Three or four years ago, returning from a Holi party, some people smeared silver paint on my face.

Next day I had a severe skin allergy. I had to undergo skin treatment for almost a year and a half. I think people should stop using such colours.

Many years ago, I witnessed some really ugly scenes during Holi. I was studying in Jabalpur, in Madhya Pradesh. We were playing Holi in our college hostel and suddenly, members of a rival gang gate-crashed our party. Soon, our group got into a nasty fight and things went really bad when one of the members got stabbed.

I didn't celebrate Holi for many years after that.

Four years ago, my friend and I were in an auto near Vile Parle (a suburb of Mumbai) going for a play rehearsal. A group of men who were drunk and with colour all over their bodies surrounded our auto and starting saying Holi hai bhai Holi! and blew the colours on our faces.

Luckily, I was wearing spectacles instead of lenses that day. But the colour severely affected my friend's eyes because it was adulterated gulaal. She was hospitalised for two days and couldn't take part in the play.

We play Holi at actor Shabana Azmi's place, but not like this. I think people should stop behaving like hooligans in the name of Holi.

I play Holi religiously every year because I love the festival of colours.

A couple of years ago, during Holi, my friends picked me up and threw me on a long ice slab. I had fun sliding over it again and again, but the next day I had a rash all over my body and my back hurt very badly. I had severe spinal cord pain for the next two months.

Sometimes we do things for fun but don't realise the after-effects. Once, my friends threw eggs on me when playing Holi despite knowing that I don't touch or eat non-vegetarian food on Monday. They had mixed something else also with the eggs so it was really stinking. It was the most unpleasant Holi.

My worst Holi memory is of someone spiking my thandai with bhaang and I made a royal fool of myself. I started laughing at everything even when we just ordered pizza.

Next day I woke up dehydrated and hung over. I also realised that silver and gold paint doesn't come off easily.

My worst memory of Holi is when I was walking down the road opposite Podar College in Mumbai a day before Holi and a couple of guys came running from behind and burst an egg on my head!

It was extremely stupid and the egg ruined my dress. Not to mention that I stank like crazy. I don't have very good memories of that day!