24 October,2014 01:28 PM IST | | Gaurav Dubey
On Diwali, Bollywood stars lit up the night sky while NaMo did a cameo. A quick look at bombs and star sparklers of another kind
Bollywood heartthrobs ruled the city sky on Diwali night while the leading ladies of filmdom made a lot of noise.
Like every year, the Mumbai market, this time too, was flooded with a range of firecrackers named after celebrities. Their pictures too were embossed on the packets to woo buyers.
While Bolly beauties Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif were aptly the phooljhadis and patakas, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor were rockets and bombs.
The most popular Bollywood crackers were named after Dippy, who, well, made it to the covers of sparklers, magic matchsticks and even bombs. Following close behind were Kareena (Kapoor) rocket and Priyanka (Chopra) phuljadi.
Our heroes also worked their charm on the crackers - from Salman (Khan) chakri and Sunny (Deol) bombs to Ranbir (Kapoor) rockets.
A firecracker seller in the city says, "Most of my customers, specially youngsters and children, prefer to buy crackers going by the pictures on the packets.
Since Bollywood stars have a huge fan following, having them on the cracker covers always boost our sale."
Narendra Modi being the flavour of the season, his pictures have been emblazoned on sarees, handbags, cushion covers, etc. The Prime Minister caught up with the films stars when it came to being featured on cracker packages too. NaMo bombs and rockets flew off the racks in no time and sellers had to continuously replenish their stock.
"This year, Modi bombs were a hit. We also sold Modi flowerpots for R1,000 a piece. There are 12 other varieties of firecrackers, including rockets, sparklers, bullet bombs and classic bombs, named after him. Modi's face embossed on the firecracker packets is making all the difference," said another city-based seller.
Firecrackers emblazoned with B-Town faces were a hit among buyers in Mumbai. Deepika Padukone was mostly seen on the covers of sparklers, Salman Khan took the cake when ut came to rockets and bombs
An industry source says, "Firecracker manufacturers prefer to have Bollywood celebs on their packets to attract more customers. Film stars command a huge fan following, and are even worshipped by several fill buffs. So, it is no wonder if their images are used to aid in the success of any enterprise. Salman, SRK, Ranbir, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika, Katrina and Priyanka are invariably the most popular crackers in the market."
Pics/ Datta Kumbhar, Nimesh Dave and Sameer Markande
