Farah Khan’s Holi Jibe: A Reflection of Bollywood’s Own ‘Chhapri’ Culture?

• Farah Khan called Holi a festival for ‘chhapri’ (uncultured) men, sparking outrage over her unprovoked remark.
• Bollywood once celebrated Holi with grand parties, but its attitude toward Hindu festivals has shifted negatively.
• The industry’s changing stance aligns with ideological shifts and external influences, distancing itself from Hindu traditions.
• Farah Khan remains silent on the misconduct of her husband and brother as well as of the Bollywood crowd at large, exposing the industry’s hypocrisy and selective outrage.
• Instead of apologizing, Bollywood deflects criticism, raising concerns about its biased portrayal of cultural festivals.

When they say, ‘Holiness is next to cleanliness,’ the proverb probably talks about physical and mental cleanliness. As in, good, clean, and unprejudiced thoughts on all social matters could also be considered divine or sacred… Alternatively, intentionally biased, nasty, or insincere thoughts or statements will always be considered profane and reprehensible – even if you try to whitewash them later with lengthy, sanguine justifications. The recent statement on the Holi festival by the famous Bollywood choreographer and Director Farah Khan is a case in point.

In the latest episode of her culinary show, Celebrity MasterChef 2025, Farah talks into the camera, saying that Holi is the favorite festival of uncultured (Chhapri) men. “Chhapri logo ka favorite festival hota hai holi,” she said. Farah Khan’s comment is pretty much unprovoked; it does not stem from her personal lived experience about the festival, nor does the discussion of Holi warrant a place in a cooking show, for that matter. Mind you, Farah Khan is married to a Hindu and typically maintains a secular profile in public for her audience’s consumption.

So why would she make such an infuriating comment on one of the holiest festivals of the Hindus? As it turns out, the answer is more psychological than sociological, considering that the harsh truth is that Bollywood’s outward projection of high culture is essentially to hide its underbelly of unrefined, uncouth, and uncivilized putrefaction.

When Holi was big in Bollywood

Let us start at the beginning; Holi was never this big, bad fest of the boors in Bollywood. In fact, the Hindi film industry of the past was known for its huge, raucously loud Bollywood parties. Columns and inches of every newspaper and magazine worth its name carried photographs and Kodak moments from various Bollywood Holi parties. In today’s business parlance, those Holi fiestas were more of networking events, and the star ranking of various celebrities was based on which of the biggest Holi parties they were invited to.

The biggest Holi bash of them all was hosted by (Late) Raj Kapoor at his RK Studios in Mumbai. “It’s a no-brainer to call this party the ‘Baap’ (father) and ‘Maa’ (mother) of all the Holi parties in Bollywood. Hosted by the inimitable and original Bollywood showman Raj Kapoor at the iconic RK Studios, this Holi party was ‘The’ party for everyone. The craze for the party was so much that people used to climb up on barricades and terraces to get a glimpse of the party. The late Raj Kapoor used to host this party annually. And the who’s who of Bollywood made it a point to ‘be there, do that’. Stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Prem Nath, Nirupa Roy, Rajendra Kumar, Nargis, Shakti Kapoor, and Shammi Kapoor used to be regulars there. Besides dancing to Bollywood songs, there used to be the traditional ‘gulal’ and ‘bhaang’ which used to fill the atmosphere.”[1]

But as the power structure of Bollywood began shifting away from Raj Kapoor, Bollywood saw a host of new claimants to the showman title, trying their hands at organizing the biggest Holi bash in town. Director Subhash Ghai – hailed as the next Showman after Raj Kapoor – too hosted big Holi events, when his star shone the brightest at the box office. And here, too, one could see the who’s who of Bollywood making a beeline. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, too, tried his hand at owning this prestigious networking event of Holi by hosting a few big bashes until a few years ago.

One notable point about the Holi parties of the seventies and the eighties Hindi film industry was that the revelry was essentially secular. All these big Holi parties had a gala of Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Sikh attendees, with a complete disregard for caste and creed. One of the prime Holi bashes organized within Bollywood was hosted by Left-litterateur ‘shayar,’ and lyricist Kaifi Azmi and his tradition was continued later by his daughter Shabana Azmi and her husband, Javed Akhtar of the famous screenwriting duo Salim Javed. Then again, when Shahrukh Khan became Tinseltown’s de facto superstar, he also hosted a few Holi parties to parade his next-gen Bollywood power clique. All in all, Holi in Bollywood was an event for camaraderie amongst the dominant elite of the showbiz. And the images and videos of their parties were the toast of the gossip columns for years. This begs the question: Farah Khan, too, hails from a Bollywood family; she too flaunts her connection to Javed Akhtar’s family openly, and yet she speaks abhorrently of the biggest festival of Bollywood. Is she hinting that her own extended family is ‘chhapri’ (uncultured)? Is she pointing out that Shahrukh Khan – who features in every other of her productions – is an unsophisticate? The answer lies somewhere in between…

Bollywood – the theater absurd!

Good ol’ Holi has its place in the pantheon of Hindu festivals purely on the strength of its scientific significance. Typically, it is the transition from the winter to the summer when most people fall sick in the subcontinent. The sudden climate change can weaken immunity, leading to viral infections, allergies, and digestive issues. Although the Hindu sages of the yore had a natural remedy for this malady, it was Holi. Playing vigorously with natural colors made up of turmeric and neem wasn’t just for fun; it helped protect against most infections and boost immunity. With villages and large communities celebrating Holi together, the festival also made a good case for settling needling disputes and becoming friends again. Naturally, Bollywood was quick to snap up the festival in its various films, as the colorful revelry made for a perfect situation for a song break. And such was Holi’s impact that it eventually became a power fest for the Bolly-elite till the industry slowly slipped away into the hands of underworld dons operating out of Pakistan. Holi, Bollywood, and Holi in Bollywood have never been the same since. Back then, Farah Khan would have been severely castigated within the industry for her remarks; today, she’s being aggressively defended by her Left-liberal gang of Hindu-haters and other Bolly-elite.

The question is: Is Farah Khan the best candidate to speak on the ‘uncultured’ within society? For, anyone who has watched her talk on her various television shows, Farah herself comes across as a ‘chhapri’, what with her Mumbai street-lingo and crass disposition. Still, if she can pontificate and hold forth on the cultured-uncultured debate, it becomes mandatory to look at her immediate family and their graceless, oafish demeanor. Farah Khan’s husband, Shirish Kunder, is famous for being slapped by Shahrukh Khan. Indeed, at a Bolly-Party in 2012, an inebriated Kunder got into fisticuffs with Shahrukh Khan and ended up getting bashed up in return. Naturally, Farah & Co went hammer and tongs after Shahrukh Khan in the gossip press for hammering her husband.[2] Was that the end of their successful partnership? Actually, no… The very cultured Farah Khan eventually came to her senses, dropped her pretenses, and crawled back into the Shahrukh Khan camp to make yet another hit film.

But the bar for culturedness was further pulled down by Farah Khan’s brother, Sajid Khan, who has been notoriously called out for sexual harassment by every other starlet that has encountered him.[3] Imagine the scale of his depravity when around nine actresses, models, and journalists chose to go public to accuse him of making indecent advances.[4] Mind you, the figure of victims could be a lot higher as many in the industry have to bite the bullet and still keep quiet, lest they face more hardship and ignominy in their lives now. The situation with Farah Khan’s brother was so bad that the industry body of ‘The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE)’ had to practically ban Sajid Khan and force him out of a few movie and television projects.[5] Obviously, this situation begs the question: Has Farah Khan called out her brother as a typical ‘chhapri’? Or maybe her definitions of culture or lack thereof only apply to Hindu festivals? More importantly, can she dare call Eid or other Islamic festivities the gathering of ‘chhapris’? The answer is blowing in the wind…

Cut from the same ‘chhapri’ cloth

While Farah Khan may have never called out the ‘chhapri’ nature of her brother and her husband – as she did for the Holi revelers, one might still argue that she typically does not professionally work with them in her every project and that she cannot be held accountable for their assorted kinks and quirks. So, does Farah Khan ensure that the ‘chhapri’ types she hates so passionately do not feature in any of her blockbuster films? It would be interesting to scratch the surface here and look at the nature of the superstar to whom she owes all her success in Bollywood. Yes, it’s Shahrukh Khan who has been featured in three of the four blockbusters she directed. (Her only film without Shahrukh Khan tanked badly at the box office)

So, can Farah Khan hold her male muse, Shahrukh Khan, to the same exacting standards of ‘culturedness’ that she uses to judge those celebrating Holi? Guess not… It was Shahrukh Khan who once revealed with a straight face in a television interview that his dream is to become the biggest porn star in the world.[6] Yes, you read that right… And if that is not enough to judge his levels of culturedness, you also have Shahrukh as a host of some Bollywood award show, openly wisecracking on how his co-host Ranbir Kapoor is unlucky as he cannot lust after his sister in Kareena Kapoor. Evidently, ‘bad luck’ isn’t about losing values but about missing out on lusting after one’s sister.[7] Again, can Farah Khan ever step up to the judgment plate and declare how ‘chhapri’ Shahrukh Khan is in real life? Or is the criticism reserved only for her Hindu audience, who have shown blockbuster-ly love for her silly, slow-witted slapstick flicks?

‘Chhapri’ defence?

Usually, the prudent thing to do in the face of such an ungainly impasse is to apologize for the wrong choice of words, seek forgiveness, and move on. Unfortunately, as per Bollywood’s ‘culturedness’ standards, the perps find it easier to fight back the aggrieved masses via their PR network and sponsored fans on social media. Naturally, Farah Khan’s minions, too, strived to divert the attention by declaring how her nasty remark was not about religion and had all to do with women’s harassment. “She’s not condemning the festival or the religion. She’s speaking of those men who use holi as an excuse to harass/molest women,” one account justified. “As a female and a devout Hindu, I want to side with Farah. We all know that one woman who faced this on Holi. Hindu-Muslim ki baat nahi hai, women security ki baat hai. Understand the difference, please,” said another account. “She’s not wrong, though. No need to bring religion into everything. She didn’t say Holi is a chhapri festival. Guys in India, regardless of their caste or religion, use Holi as an excuse to grope and eve tease girls,” another account highlighted.[8] The simple point for Bollywood PR agencies to understand here is that the debasing of Holi as an event for ‘chhapris’ was primarily done by Bollywood itself, in its various ugly portrayals of the festival. Then again, one cannot simply deflect the blame of one’s offensive statement by tethering it to the woke gender politics anymore.

It would help her massively in her career now if Farah Khan made a heartfelt apology to her Hindu fans, whom she has so callously hurt. Although the chances of that happening are pretty low, what might surely happen is Farah Khan showing up again at some upcoming high-profile Holi networking event and celebrating the festival with full gusto with her ‘chhapri’ comrades. And, mind you, it’s the least concern of these Bolly-folks if Indians organize the Holi event or those ‘chhapri’ Pakistanis – just as actor Hrithik Roshan is slated to do in the upcoming Holi.[9] Now, that’s the ultimate hallmark of their ‘culturedness’ or lack thereof.

Citations

[1] Sundaresan, Satish. 2023. “Holi Bollywood! Have Bollywood Holi parties gone from sizzle to fizzle over the years?” OTTplay. https://www.ottplay.com/news/holi-bollywood-have-bollywood-holi-parties-gone-from-sizzle-to-fizzle-over-the-years/20984b6e2a185

[2] TOI. 2012. “Why Shah Rukh Khan slapped Farah Khan’s husband Shirish Kunder remains unclear | Hindi Movie News – The Times of India.” Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/why-shah-rukh-khan-slapped-farah-khans-husband-shirish-kunder-remains-unclear/articleshow/11692530.cms

[3] Eminent Intellectual. 2025. “Farah Khan calls Holi “Chhapri” festival. Her Chhapri brother is a serial molester.” Twitter/X. https://x.com/total_woke_/status/1897931156164637171

[4] CNBC-TV18. 2022. “Sajid Khan: Top controversies of the filmmaker.” CNBC TV18. https://www.cnbctv18.com/entertainment/sajid-khan-top-controversies-of-filmmaker-in-bollywood-mumbai-15229171.htm

[5] Pandey, Geeta. 2022. “’Remove Sajid Khan’: Growing calls in India to drop Bollywood director from Bigg Boss.” BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-63128128

[6] Gems of Bollywood. 2025. “Urduwood’s nakli Pathaan once revealed his ultimate dream—becoming ‘biggest p*rn star in the world.’” Twitter/X. https://x.com/GemsOfBollywood/status/1897248467585487070

[7] ibid

[8] Kaur, Arshdeep. 2025. “’Chhapri logo ka favourite…’: Farah Khan faces backlash for comment on Holi; netizens say ‘Look who’s talking’ | Today News.” Mint. https://www.livemint.com/news/trends/chhapri-logo-ka-favourite-farah-khan-faces-backlash-for-comment-on-holi-netizens-say-look-who-s-talking-11740039452282.html

[9] No Conversion. 2025. “Question to Hrithik Roshan @iHrithik ,you could not find a single HINDU promoter in USA to celebrate Holi,,, a Pakistani group from Dallas is all you could find? Shameful.” Twitter/X. https://x.com/noconversion/status/1896276133962035356