Superstars often trip one another to get their films to release on Diwali because it is a profitable period at the box office. But ironically , the festival per se has very rarely been captured on the big screen - unlike its counterparts, Holi or Dahi Handi.

Reasons writer-director, Tigmanshu Dhulia, “You don't connect emotionally with Diwali and it is also not very cinematically appealing, unlike Holi, which is more colourful. Diwali is celebrated at night; people perform puja and play card games. So, there is not much to show on celluloid although the sound of Diwali crackers has been used for creating drama in the film's storyline.“

Subhash Ghai thinks the audience is one reason why filmmakers shy away from showing the festival as an integral part of their stories. He states, “In today's scenario, the traditional family audience has moved to television serials and shows. So, when we are generating modern content for the modern audience, we don't show these festivals except Dahi Handi songs, which have energy.“

Director Karan Malhotra feels the festival of lights does not lend itself well on celluloid. “Diwali is more of an intimate festival among families. People don't go out on streets whereas other festivals like Ganpati, Dahi Handi and Holi are more dramatic and hence, cinematically exciting,“ he opines.

Of course, his mentor Karan Johar is one of the few filmmakers to have used the festival as an important part of his storyline. In Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, the filmmaker chose the festival as a backdrop for Shah Rukh Khan's entry as his onscreen parents, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan perform the puja in a grand manner. Years later, Hrithik Roshan too is seen returning home on Diwali - but this time around, KJo gives it a sombre mood to depict the broken family.

Besides this film, there are only a handful of movies that have woven in the festival of lights in their narrative. 1965 release Waqt is another film that used it to represent a separation. Balraj Sahni is shown singing the famous Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen while celebrating the start of his new business on Diwali. But just after the song, an earthquake destroys their lives when their three sons get separated. The festival serves as a turning point in the film and the director had used firecrackers to highlight the turmoil in the lives of lead characters. It is on Diwali night that Zeenat Aman's character in Satyam Shivam Sundaram suffers severe burns from a cracker, which leave a permanent scar on her face.

Not exactly the traditional festive situation, but another scene that comes to mind is from Zanjeer, in which a frightened young boy (Amitabh Bachchan's character) hides in a cupboard and witnesses his parents being killed. The scene is made all the more dramatic by the noise of crackers exploding all around him.

In a heart-rending episode in Shakti Samanta's Anuraag, the entire neighbourhood gets together and stages a Diwali celebration to fulfill a young boy's dying wish.