Zee TV actors share their Janmashtami memories : Reena Kapoor (Bhawna Khandelwal in ‘Aur Pyar Ho Gaya’)

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Zee TV actors share their Janmashtami memories

Paridhi Sharma (Jodha from ‘Jodha Akbar’)

“Lord Krishna is personally my favorite God, I feel a special connection with him and therefore Janmashthmi being the day of his birth is an important one for me too. One thing that I swear by that I have learnt from being his disciple is the importance and relevance of the Bhagwad Gita. I feel that if I can just imbibe some elements from the Gita in my life, it would make all the difference. In fact, I would like to urge all my fans to read the Bhagwad Gita or at least to have it with them to keep the bad omen at bay. Even though I will most probably be shooting on Janmashthmi and the only way I’ll get to celebrate it is by getting to shoot a Krishna sequence on set, Krishna is always in my heart and mind.”

Apara Mehta (Nani from ‘Jamai Raja’)

“Of all the Gods, Krishna Bhagwan is everyone’s favourite because he is remembered as the naughtiest God. Even today, all his pranks are something that everybody loves, so Janmashthmi being the birthday of Bal Krishna makes you think of a lot of love and cuteness. Bal Krishna is important to every Hindu, so of course Janmashthmi is usually a big affair. Though I have spent most of my Janmashthmis working on set, the fasting and prayers still go on to celebrate his birthday. The love story of Radha-Krishna is something you remember all your life. ‘Krishna Bhakti’ is what Radha-Krishna were all about and their’s is the best love story one can come across.”

Shilpa Shirodkar (Kamla Tai from ‘Ek Mutthi Aasman’)

“For me, Lord Krishna is a very beautiful deity. He is considered the God of Gods and I simply love that he is so charming, intelligent and fun-loving. He is the God that loved to play mischief and was also the epitome of Love. Generally, things related to the Gods and Almighty are very serious. I think Krishna ji suggests that life is not all about being serious but what is more important, is being right, like he fought against the evil and took a stand. So Janmashthmi for me has always been a very fun affair where you have the dahi handi celebrations and the fasts. Of course, today it has all become quite commercial where there is a clash within teams, all fighting for a prize. When I was growing up, I remember it used to be a sweet, simple and happy occasion with kids in every locality climbing up to break the handis and these traffic jams that happened as a result of it. I think these festivities are all about fun and it brings people together. Although this year I will most probably be working on Janmashtmi, last year I took my daughter to watch some of the dahi handi celebrations so that she also grow up to be familiar with this part of our culture.”

Kaanchi Singh (Avni Khandelwal of ‘Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya’)

“I adore Krishna and every year on Janmasthmi at night I go to Iskcon Temple to worship him. I have a lot of statues of Krishna ji all over my house, in many different sizes and I think he is one of the cutest Gods and I love him a lot. This year again, at night I will go to Iskcon Temple and like always to welcome his birthday I will attend the aarti. I make it a point to go every year and I just feel sometimes that every year my faith in Lord Krishna just increases. I love to talk and know more about him and Radha. It just gives me a very good feeling. I remember one Janmashtmi my family and I went to attend the dahi handi ceremony and seeing them I just told papa that I would want to take part too when he held me back saying I’d instead end up hurting myself. Hence, I just have one wish that in my entire lifetime, I would want to break the dahi handi once.”

Reena Kapoor (Bhawna Khandelwal in ‘Aur Pyar Ho Gaya’)

I am a strong believer in God and for me my life is incomplete without Lord Krishna or Lord Shiva. I am completely devoted to them. As far as Janmashtmi is concerned, if I am not shooting then I prefer to go back to Delhi to my family and we celebrate Janmashthmi with my Guruji at my aashram. It’s a whole day affair of bhajans and keertans and the whole atmosphere around there is full of positivity. At night we have programs put up by children who enact the tales of Krishna ji. This year, I’ll most probably be working on Janmashtmi but if I’m given the time I would love to go visit my aashram. Since many years this has been the tradition of celebrating Janmashtmi in my family.”