Holi 2016: Messages from India's celebrities and Bollywood stars for the 'festival of colours'

On 24 March India celebrates one of its most popular festivals, Holi. Dubbed the "festival of colours", people take to the streets to indulge in a giant water fight with coloured powder and paint.

Holi is one of India's most popular festivals, signifying the beginning of spring. Although the festival has its roots in Hinduism, it is now widely celebrated by people of all faiths across India, as well as by Indians across the globe.

Holi 2016: What is the Hindu 'festival of colours' and how is it celebrated in India?

While some people hold religious ceremonies during Holi, most people celebrate the festival with dancing, singing and by throwing coloured water. People smear each other with paint and throw coloured powder around, with everyone being allowed to participate, breaking down barriers of caste, age, sex and status.

With everyone getting involved in the festival, many of India's celebrities have taken to Twitter to extend their well wishes to their fans. IBTimes UK rounds up some of the Indian stars celebrating Holi and what they had to say on the day.

Aamir Khan

Wishing everyone a very happy Holi! May your lives be full of colour, and may joy, happiness and peace always be with you. Love. a.
— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) March 23, 2016

Irrfan Khan

On this day that signifies the victory of good over evil, let us colour the world with peace and love! Happy Holi pic.twitter.com/U2hgu8zUk0
— irrfan (@irrfan_k) March 24, 2016

Sushmita Sen

Happyyy Holi B'ful P'ple!!!ðŸŽµðŸ˜„â¤ï¸ðŸ˜˜ My love to all at home!!!Be Thoughtful, Kind n Super loving this Holi!! I love uâ¤ï¸ðŸ˜ƒ pic.twitter.com/JCFDDynwYI
— sushmita sen (@thesushmitasen) March 23, 2016

Amitabh Bachchan

FB 1283 - Holi ki shubhkamanayein badhai aur pyaar ..HOLI HAI
Posted by Amitabh Bachchan on Tuesday, 22 March 2016

Priyanka Chopra

Holi Fever on the sets of Quantico! A big thank you to my Quantico family for giving me a home away from home! Quick guess... which one is me??? Happy Holi everyone!
A photo posted by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Mar 23, 2016 at 10:52pm PDT

Abhishek Bachan

Hey guys, I know it's tough but please try and play a dry Holi. #SaveWater
— Abhishek Bachchan (@juniorbachchan) March 23, 2016

Shah Rukh Khan

Here's wishing everyone a very Happy Holi!
Posted by Shah Rukh Khan on Wednesday, 23 March 2016

Sonam Kapoor

Holi is the festival of love.. Please love each other, celebrate each other and know that â€¦ https://t.co/AWYwUBPj4Q pic.twitter.com/7pZaxlhIRs
— Sonam Kapoor (@sonamakapoor) March 24, 2016

Sanjeev Kapoor

Happy Holi everyone!

Some pictures of Holi celebrations in my office with flowers and natural colours. pic.twitter.com/bqcO7F654X
— Sanjeev Kapoor (@SanjeevKapoor) March 23, 2016

Kalki Koechlin

Happy Holi everybody.
— Kalki Koechlin (@kalkikanmani) March 24, 2016

Chetan Bhagat

Life is short. Make sure it is colorful. Happy Holi! pic.twitter.com/zjimmzaX8e
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) March 24, 2016

Shraddha Kapoor

Happy Holi guys! May you all paint your lives with colors of happiness, joy, friendship & love! ðŸ’œðŸ’™ðŸ’šðŸ’—ðŸ’›â¤ï¸
— Shraddha Kapoor (@ShraddhaKapoor) March 24, 2016

And please remember to be considerate this Holi. There are people suffering because there's no water. See here - https://t.co/TuFfGTuoor
— Shraddha Kapoor (@ShraddhaKapoor) March 24, 2016

Siddharth Mallya

Happy #Holi everyone!!!!! â¤ï¸ðŸ’›ðŸ’šðŸ’™ðŸ’œ https://t.co/cmkXrH1R5k
— Sid Mallya (@sidmallya) March 24, 2016

Alia Bhatt

Happy happy Holi !!!! ðŸ˜€ðŸ˜€ have a day full of love & laughter and of course COLOUR!! But please please save water this year..We need to!!ðŸ™ðŸ™âï¸
— Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) March 24, 2016

Subramaniam Badrinath

Wish ya all tweeples a #HappyHoli ðŸŽ‰ðŸŽ‰ðŸ˜ƒðŸ‘ðŸ»
— subramani badrinath (@s_badrinath) March 23, 2016

Sachin Tendulkar

Wishing everyone a #HappyHoli https://t.co/NqDWzwaRNz
— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 23, 2016

Hema Malini

Happy Holi on the 24th!
Request u all to be careful & use only safe colors while playing Holi. Take good care of kids on 23rd - Holika Dahan
— Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhema) March 22, 2016

Akshay Kumar

Do keep in mind the water scarcity problem in our country...opt for dry Holi! Happy Holi everyone, have a colorful one ðŸ˜Š
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) March 24, 2016

Madhuri Dixit-Nene

Happy Holi everyone! Show your colors, be safe, play safe and enjoy yourselvesðŸ˜€ pic.twitter.com/ZgMHlepxd2
— Madhuri Dixit-Nene (@MadhuriDixit) March 24, 2016

Please guys save water, play a dry Holi.ðŸ˜€
— Madhuri Dixit-Nene (@MadhuriDixit) March 24, 2016

Shekhar Kapur

#HappyHoli every1 ..loving loving loving the WILL shoot, but missing missing missing home today. Please please please play #waterless #Holi
— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) March 23, 2016

Sunny Leone

Let's make #Holi safe for animals. Some tips from @PetaIndia : https://t.co/FEm0zFz05W
— Sunny Leone (@SunnyLeone) March 23, 2016

Kunal Kapur

Have a great Holi and share your happiness with the less privileged. Cheer someone up today that's the right spirit. #HappyHoli
— Kunal Kapur (@ChefKunalKapur) March 24, 2016

Jai Singh Rathore

May your life be coloured with joy, fun, happiness, friendship & love. Happy Holi to all of you! P.S Use color save water!
— Jai Singh Rathore (@AnilKapoor) March 24, 2016

Anushka Sharma

Happy holi everyone! Enjoy this lovely day but pls be safe & play with safe colours. And pls oh pls don't throw colours on animals ðŸ™ðŸ¼â¤ï¸ðŸ¤—
— Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) March 24, 2016

Bipasha Basu

Happy Holiâ¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/O97OIXQ2we
— Bipasha Basu (@bipsluvurself) March 24, 2016

Shekhar Kapur

Every drop of water u save is a drop a farmer can use, a thirsty child can drink. Every drop. #SaveWaterForBetterThings #HappyHoli
— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) March 24, 2016

Harbhajan Singh

Happy Holi everyone..@imVkohli @ImRo45 @BCCI pic.twitter.com/vzW6xrGzj4
— Harbhajan Singh (@harbhajan_singh) March 24, 2016

Dino Morea

Ohhh yeah it's Holi, a very happy Holi to all, play hard play safe. #save water pic.twitter.com/jWouJoXfG8
— Dino Morea (@DinoMorea9) March 24, 2016

Virat Kohli

Happy Holi everyone! Have a great day and lots of fun on this auspicious day #HappyHoli ðŸ˜Ž pic.twitter.com/HYdvh4yTUf
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 24, 2016

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Happy Holi to all pic.twitter.com/FM24cE4sd1
— Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) March 24, 2016

Anupam Kher

Happy Holi to All. Play safe and dry Holi. Love.:)
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) March 24, 2016

Send me a pic of you with your family or friends celebrating Holi. Would love to retweet them. Happy Holi.:)
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) March 24, 2016

Yuvraj Singh

Happy holi everyone! Spread the love with the colours of joy â˜ðŸ¼ï¸ðŸŽ‰ https://t.co/m7uupJrZdB
— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) March 24, 2016

Esha Gupta

Happy Holi colourful people
— Esha Gupta (@eshagupta2811) March 24, 2016

Shreya Ghoshal

Happy holi everyone!! Animal lovers please refrain from using holi colours on animals, they are... https://t.co/DN11RCMSHu
— Shreya Ghoshal (@shreyaghoshal) March 24, 2016

Lara Dutta Bhupathi

Holi Hai!!!! Wishing everyone a safe and fun filled Holi!! Stay Safe!
— Lara Dutta Bhupathi (@LaraDutta) March 24, 2016

Manish Paul

#HappyHoli everyone!!!love to ur families...lets save water dis year!!!think abt it!!!ITS IMPORTANT...love u all
— Manish Paul (@ManishPaul03) March 24, 2016

Manish Malhotra

Happy #holi ðŸ˜Šplay #safe Be #safe
— Manish Malhotra (@ManishMalhotra) March 24, 2016

Neha Dhupia

#HappyHoli to all u beautiful people out there... Spread the joy n happiness!!! #besafe pic.twitter.com/bbppSnbRNM
— Neha Dhupia (@NehaDhupia) March 24, 2016

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