Gujarat celebrates more than 100 festivals every year ! Among these, the festival of Uttarayan is one of the grandest and stands tall. In Gujarat, Uttarayan is a holiday when every family can be met outdoors. People of all ages fly kites from dawn to dusk. Crowded rooftops, fun-loving rivalry to outdo each other in kite flying skills and delicious traditional Gujarati feast are the hallmarks of the day.Uttarayan (known as Makar Sakranti in many parts of India) is the day when the sun starts to travel northwards marking the decline of winter. The fascination and the revelry associated with the kite flying cuts across age groups, class and communities including Bollywood films. Over the years there have been elaborate sequences in movies where the hero teaches the heroine kite-flying or it’s just a way for them to romance. Let us have a look at some of the B-town flicks that have celebrated the spirit of Uttarayan.
Udi Udi Jaye from Raees
Raees is set in Gujarat where the harvest festival is locally known as Uttaraayan. It stars Shah Rukh Khan as liquor baron Raees and Pakistani actress as his love interest. Udi Udi Jaye portrays the tradition of kite flying with colourful visuals and gradually proceeds into a garba dance session, starring Shah Rukh and Mahira. The film was released on 25 January 2017 during India's Republic Day weekend.It received overall positive reviews from the critics, who appreciated the performances of Khan and Siddiqui, production design, cinematography and visual effects, and was a huge success at the box office,becoming the 6th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2017. Raees was also the most pirated Hindi film of 2017 but it started trending in 2023 in Netflix after 6 years of release. The film's soundtrack has also received over 160 crore (1.6 billion) streams on YouTube. The film received five nominations at the 63rd Filmfare Awards, including Best Actor for Khan.
Dheel De from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
The Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed film centres around a Gujarati family while the song highlights the preparations ahead of a kite-flying competition. The song showcases how kite-flying is an indispensable part of Uttarayan
Earth -1947
Ruth Aa Gayi Re from Earth 1998 film Earth features Aamir Khan as Dil Navaz and Nandita Das as ayah Shanta and is set in Lahore. Sukhwinder Singh popular song Ruth Aa Gayi Re brings forth the subtle romance that brews between Navaz and Shanta as they help each other fly kites.
'Kai Po Che'
‘Manjha’ from this film become one of Bollywood's most popular kite-flying songs. 'Kai Po Che' is a Gujarati phrase that means 'victory' during a kite flying session. The film Kai Po Che is based on Chetan Bhagat's novel The Three Mistakes of My Life. Manjha tells the touching story of three friends, played by Amit Sadh, Sushant Singh Rajput and Rajkummar Rao.