Deepavali celebrations have been a multicultural affair for me: Malavika Mohanan

For Malavika Mohanan, this Deepavali is all about new beginnings. The actress is all set to ring in the festival with her family at their new home in Mumbai, and that, for her, is the best way to celebrate. “It has been quite hectic for the last few days — packing, shifting, and cleaning. It has been a task, shifting houses during the pandemic. But there’s also a lot of excitement.This year, Deepavali is going to be in our new place and I feel this is the nicest beginning,” Malavika tells us.
The actress has been busy doing up their new home. “As a family, we have a very earthy taste. We are using Athangudi tiles for the whole house, and have infused elements of a typical Malayali household. While my parents are doing up the house the traditional way, my room will reflect my choices and taste,” she says.
Growing up in Mumbai, Deepavali celebrations have been a multicultural affair, says Malavika. “I’ve friends who belong to various regions and I used to spend the whole day house-hopping and celebrating with them. I’d go to my Maharashtrian friend’s place to eat and have the tastiest delicacies ever. I used to help my Gujarati friend with the rangoli. I am a very arts-and-crafts type of person and love doing rangoli. As a child, I used to buy simple, brown diyas and paint and decorate them according to my imagination. I haven’t had time to do it in the past few years and I miss that,” she adds.
So, will this Deepavali be all about lighting lamps or bursting crackers for her? “I was the kind who used to light up crackers,” she says with a laugh, “While my friends would go for flower pots, I used to like bombs and rockets and that 1000walas. But I stopped bursting crackers almost seven years ago. I think it was more to do with celebrating Deepavali sustainably. Also, for me, the festival was all about spending a lot of time with family and friends. This year, my brother is also at home.But we can’t fly down to Kerala to visit my grandparents, who live there. So, it’s just going to be us. We will be performing Lakshmi Puja on the main day. And also have some great food. Eat, pray, love… these are crucial parts of celebration this year.”
There was a buzz that the makers of her Master — starring Vijay and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj — are releasing the film’s teaser on Deepavali. “I really can’t say anything about it. Like everyone else; I was looking forward to catching the film this summer. But the pandemic happened and our priorities changed. Now, theatres have started opening across the country and that’s great news. The Master team knows when it will be the right time to release details about the film. I feel it should be when things get safer for people to come into theatres and experience the film.”
Picture Credit: Aishwaryaa Nayak