Shweta Tripathi Sharma is looking forward to Diwali. The Mirzapur actress talks to us about her prep and childhood memories of the festival. "As kids hum firecrackers jalate thay, tab samajh bhi nahi thi aur pata bhi nahi tha. I was recently in Delhi and aankhein jal rahi thi, throat was itchy. Mumbai air isn’t great either but it’s better than Delhi," she says.

She adds, "Festive season mein music hota hai, dance hota hai, khana-peena hota hai aur somehow lagta hai festival time mein aap jitni bhi chaat khalo toh uski calories count nahi hoti (laughs)"

Talking about what celebrations mean to her, Shweta shares, “For me, Diwali celebrations mean cleaning and purifying the entire environment, including my inner self. It is also about sharing and bonding with the community and lighting the lamp of knowledge. I think each tradition has a meaning, and with generations, we are forgetting those. Back in my childhood, cleaning was a chore I wasn’t too keen on, but now I realize that when you clean, you’re not just tidying up physically; you’re also decluttering your thoughts, making them more accessible."

Making rangoli is another thing that the Mirzapur actress looks forward to. “I think it is a period that everybody looks forward to, and har jagah lights lagi hui hain. It’s like the whole city comes alive,” says the actress.

Reminiscing about fond memories from her childhood, Shweta says, “Hum teen patti khelte thay, 10 paise, 50 paise aur Rs 5 se, usse khelne mein jo maza aata tha, woh mujhe badhe notes ke sath bilkul nahi aata. Yeh hum shagun ke liye khelte hi thay. And it didn’t matter who won, just participating in it together was fun,” she says.