Marking a vibrant blend of cinema, tradition, and culture, the Kalyanaraman family’s annual Navaratri celebration brought together prominent personalities from Bollywood and South Indian cinema to revel in the festive spirit.
This year’s Navaratri celebrations at the Kalyanaraman residence paid homage to the cosmic tale of Samudra Manthan, the legendary churning of the ocean symbolising the eternal struggle between good and evil. At the heart of the theme was a majestic recreation of Kailash Parvat and a sacred Shivling, celebrating Lord Shiva’s role as the cosmic force of balance, transformation, and divine consciousness. Enhancing the spiritual narrative was a striking display of the Sapta Matrikas, honouring the Mother Goddess in her seven divine forms. These fierce and protective aspects, believed to have emerged to help defeat the demon Andhakasura, are venerated for their powers of protection, prosperity, and spiritual upliftment. Together, these elements captured the essence of transformation, the triumph of virtue, and the sacred interplay between the divine masculine and feminine.
A key highlight of the celebration was the traditional Bommai Kolu, a vibrant, multi-tiered display of dolls and figurines carefully arranged to reflect both the divine and the everyday. A cherished Navaratri tradition in many southern Indian households, the Kolu at the Kalyanaraman residence portrayed mythological stories, scenes from daily life, and the divine presence of Goddesses Saraswati, Parvati, and Lakshmi. Guests were warmly welcomed and guided through the display, which symbolised the journey from the material to the spiritual, offering insights into the cultural and devotional significance embedded in each layer.
The evening was graced by leading film personalities including Akshay Kumar, Nagarjuna & Amala, Nag Chaitanya & Akhil Akkineni, Karishma Kapoor, Tabu, Genelia Deshmukh, Malaika Arora, Sreeleela, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Prabhu Ganesan & Vikram Prabhu, Suchitra Mohanlal, Jayaram & Parvathy, Kalidas Jayaram & Tarini, Malavika Mohanan, Dir. Satyan Athikkad with Akhil and Anoop Satyan, Jayasurya, Indrajith & Poornima, Kavya Madhavan & Dileep, Kriti Shetty, Rejena Cassandra, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Sreeleela, Sayami Kher, Priya Varrier, Pearle Maaney, Navya Nair, Supriya Menon, Lakshmi Gopalaswami, Mamta Mohandas. Kalyan Jewellers’ regional brand ambassadors, including Ritabhari Chakraborty (West Bengal), Pooja Sawant (Maharashtra) and Kinjal Rajpriya (Gujarat), further added to the grandeur of the evening, embodying the brand’s ethos of uniting tradition with modernity.
The private celebration seamlessly wove together cinema, culture, and spirituality, with the Kalyanaraman family continuing its legacy of creating an event that is both intimate and spectacular.