Deepika rockets, Vidya candles, Alia firenuts woo Raipur

With Diwali round the corner, Raipur is indulging in the festive mood and like every year cracker shops have put the best on display to attract customers. The pomp and show is incomplete without Bollywood stars here too. This festive season top actors have taken over the firecracker boxes which have pictures of them to woo customers. Be it Katrina Kaif phuljhadi, Deepika rockets or Alia Bhatt firenuts, Raipur fancies all things filmy.
According to Raipur shopkeepers, there is a huge demand for celeb crackers that have now become a status symbol of sorts. The pictures of Bollywood stars on the box don’t affect the prices of firecrackers but as the popularity of these stars changes, the faces on the cracker boxes change, which in turn helps in boosting sales. “Crackers that are modelled after famous personalities are going to be hot stuff this Diwali. Politicians and Bollywood actresses are the preferred choices when it comes to firecracker boxes,” said Chandan Sahu, a shopkeeper.
The hottest phuljhadi?
Last year Sonakshi Sinha and Kareena Kapoor Khan might have ruled the cracker packets, but this time Deepika Padukone seems to be leaving behind everyone and can lay claim to the title of the city’s hottest phuljhadi.
Rahul Chakradhari, a cracker mart owner, said, “Many actresses have been featured on several firecracker packets this time. Crackers like seven shots, 120 shots and other fancy ones have Deepika on them. Pictures of Kareena Kapoor Khan finds no place on the covers of phuljhadi and ladd packets, making her the least popular actress to be featured on Diwali firecrackers.”
As Baahubali remained one of the biggest hits this year, people demanded of Katappa and Baahubali on firecracker boxes too. “Unfortunately Baahubali is not much in stock this time, firecracker manufacturers have tried to encash on his popularity too. But as these crackers are manufactured very early, we won’t find latest movie stars and that’s what happened this year too,” shared Deepak Kesharwani, a cracker vendor.
Stall owners believe that the popularity of an actor because of a hit movie or personal scandals ascertains their appearance on the firecracker boxes. While some people buy their firecrackers based on the quality of the goods, others just splurge seeing their favourite actor or idol gracing its packet. “To tap this market, we have also kept crackers with sportsmen on their package. Cricketers like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli are also popular faces on the cracker boxes. We also have international sportsmen and recent world champions from various sporting fields,” said Zamil Khan, a cracker manufacturer.
Cartoon crackers for children
On one hand youngsters are going crazy about buying cracker boxes with their favourite actors’ pictures, on the other hand kids are craving for their favourite cartoon characters too. “Cartoons like Chhota Bheem and Doremon have retained their popularity among boys, while Tom and Jerry cracker boxes enjoy a popularity among children that will never fade, is loved by both girls and boys,” said Anup Lahiri, owner of a cracker store near Ghadi Chowk.
Hollywood also finds a place
Interestingly, this year firecracker packaging with Hollywood film themes have also made it big. Superheroes and animation characters like Harry Potter, Hulk, Shrek and the Scooby Doo teams have made it to the covers of attractive firecracker boxes for the kids of the city. “Kids are fond of cartoon characters and we know that firecrackers with cartoon characters on their packaging will get sold out by the first day of Diwali,”said Chandan Sahu, who has his cracker stall near Moti Bagh.