Ganesh Chaturthi: B-town celebs who welcome the Elephant God home

B-town celebs who welcome the Elephant God home

Ganesh Chaturthi is around the corner and Mumbai is abuzz with preparations. So, how far can Bollywood be? B-town celebs too observe Ganeshotsav with great fanfare. Here are some celebs who celebrate the festival with much enthusiasm.

Salman Khan

Salman Khan in one celebrity, who irrespective of his caste and creed, celebrates all festivals with great zest and zeal. Salma Khan, his mother, was initially a Maharashtrian who converted to Islam after marrying Salman’s father, Salim Khan. Salma has raised her son with such religious values that Salman celebrates all festivals as though he owns them. Salman Khan, brings Bappa home every year without fail, a practice that he has been continuing since the last 12 years. It was only last year that the actor was not present in India during Ganesh Chaturthi (he was in LA for a routine health check-up). According to a report in Bollywoodlife.com, Salman also stated that it was his sister Arpita Khan who insisted that the family should celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi. The idol is kept at the actor’s Bandra residence. The entire Khan household and many other Bollywood celebrities flock to the actor’s house at Galaxy Apartments to take the blessings of the Lord during the one-and-a-half days that they keep the idol. This year too, the actor would be bringing home the Elephant God with great pomp and show.

Ranbir Kapoor

The Ganeshotsav trend in the Kapoor family was started by Raj Kapoor, recalled Neetu Singh, Ranbir Kapoor’s mother. Ranbir and his family celebrate the festival with aplomb. This is one of the biggest Ganpati celebrations among Bollywood families. The whole Kapoor clan gathers under one roof to welcome the Elephant Lord.

<strong>Jeetendra </strong><br /> <br /> Ardent followers of the elephant deity, Jeetendra and his family religiously celebrate the festival every year. Jeetendra is joined by his children actor Tushaar Kapoor and TV producer Ekta Kapoor for the puja. He also visits his old house in Girgaum, where he used to reside before knowing success, to do the first <em>puja</em>. This is a tradition that has been going on since many years and Bollywood&rsquo;s &lsquo;Jumping Jack&rsquo; is still enthusiastic about it.

Vivek Oberoi

Vivek Oberoi, who did not have a single hit to his name after the much acclaimed 2007 film,Shootout at Wadala, seems to be on a roll now. With back to back hits like Grand Masti and Krrish 3 in 2013, he certainly has Lord Ganesha to thank, for his success. Vivek feels it’s only due to Lord Ganesha that there is peace of mind and prosperity in his life, both professionally and personally. He credits the success of Krrish 3 to the Elephant God and feels that it he could not have pulled off his negative role without the Lord’s blessings. Vivek is now gearing up for his next film with director Sanjay Gupta, Mumbai Saga, in which he plays the role of an encounter specialist.

Neil Nitin Mukesh

According to a bollywoodlife.com report, Neil Nitin Mukesh was a toddler when he first asked his father, Nitin Mukesh to bring the baby Ganesha home. The Mukesh family still continues with this tradition. Their zeal and enthusiasm increases with each passing year. In fact, the Ganesha idol at Niel Nitin Mukesh’s home is said to be one of the most beautiful and the largest in their vicinity. Unlike many other celebs, the family keeps the idol for the entire 11-day festive period.

Rani Mukerji

Rani started bringing the Ganesha idol home since 2010. She was spotted last year at a South Mumbai pandal offering her heartfelt prayers to Bappa. She was basking in the success of her 2014 release, Mardaani. Since 2014 has been a really great year for Rani, she did after all thank Bappa for his blessings. In the same year, Rani also got married to Aditya Chopra in a very hush-hush ceremony in Italy. 2015 too opened up on a good note for Rani. She completed one year of being happily married to the love of her life Aditya Chopra. And according to various reports, she is pregnant with her first child. All eyes are set on Rani as to what she would be doing this year for Ganesh Chathurthi.

Shilpa Shetty Kundra

Who says that you have to belong to a particular religion to celebrate the arrival of Lord Ganesha? The apt example of this is Shilpa Shetty Kundra and husband Raj Kundra, who despite having no connection with Maharashtra and its culture bring home the idol of Ganesha with utmost fervour. They keep the idol at their home for a period of one and a half days. Shilpa, along with husband Raj, has been bringing the idol home for some years now. It is always a treat to watch Shilpa dance to the beats of the dhol during the visarjan of her Ganpati.

Nana Patekar

Here is one actor everyone is proud of. The Ganpati Puja tradition at Nana’s place started from the time of Nana Patekar’s father. Like any child, Nana would participate in the celebrations with great gusto. Bollywoodlife.com in a report mentioned that he himself paints the eyes of the Lord Ganesha. Nana’s idol is known to be special as he brings home Dagdu Sheth Ganpati every year. Nana honours the Lord for full 10 days and personally immerses the idol at Dadar Chowpatty without any fanfare. Nana believes in simple but meaningful things and this can be proved by the idol that he brought last year. It was an idol with minimal paint and Nana personally decorated the idol with nothing but flowers. It is also said that Nana is very particular about the Ganeshotsav celebrations at his home and personally looks over all the preparations.

Govinda

Govinda too, brings home the idol of Lord Ganesha. His puja, however is a low key affair. Only his wife Sunitha and children- son Yashvardhan Ahuja and daughter Tina Ahuja and chosen family members and close friends participate in the celebrations. With his daughter making her debut in Second Hand Husband alongside Gippy Garewal and his son waiting for the right script to come his way, Govinda has a major reason to thank Bappa all the more this year.