I want to smear colour on Bradley Cooper: Nusrat Jahan

"It’s my first Dol in Kolkata in three years!” exclaimed an excited Nusrat Jahan when we caught up with the chirpy actress at her beautiful residence a day before Holi. “I will make the most of this occasion by spending time with family and friends,” added Nusrat, thanking us for helping her kickstart the celebrations a day in advance in form of the special Holi shoot. In a chat with us, the Tollywood beauty — looking splendid in a white and saffron lehenga, colourful bangles in one arm and marigold flowers in her neatly tied bun — talks about her Holi plans, childhood memories and why she has vowed never to have bhang again. Excerpts: What does the festival of colours mean to you? Holi is the victory of good over evil. On this festive day, one should meet their close ones, play, laugh, sleep, forget and forgive, amend broken relationships and, most importantly, forget diet and eat to their heart’s content. What are your Holi plans this year? Well, I’m in a mood to cook this Holi. I have bought some mutton, which I will prepare for lunch. So, for lunch, I’ll have sukha mutton and pua (a Bihari dish), followed by jalebi and rabdi — all made by me! I could use some help from my mother though. With all my friends coming over, I’m expecting to have a big, gala party at my place! However, I’m not cooking at night; dinner will be taken care of by mom. How is a typical Holi day in Nusrat’s life? Holi is all about getting up late, cooking, eating, playing with colours, taking a long shower and repeat. Have you bought some colours for Holi? I strictly use only herbal colours to play Holi, with pink abir being my absolute favourite. This year I am going innovative by mixing crushed rose petals with my colours to give it a nice fragrance (smiles). I really wish to be a part of the Basanta Utsav in Santiniketan some time. It’s so colourful out there! Tell us about your favourite childhood Holi memory . Even though I hate water-based colours now, as a child I used to play with buckets full of watercolours. It’s better that I don’t disclose what I used to mix it with — from cow dung to eggs, it had everything inside (laughs). But now that I have shoots lined up after Holi, I hate colours that stay on for too long. This year, I will start shooting for crisscross soon after, so I have to make sure my friends use herbal colours only. We heard you used to be a big prankster during Holi when you were younger. Oh yes! I used to ride a scooty and my friends used to ride pillion. Together we would throw eggs and water balloons on the passers-by. It made my para people paranoid but for us it was so much fun (smiles)! Which is your favourite Holi song? Rang barse from Silsila is my all-time favourite Holi song. It plays on loop at my place on Holi and we all dance to it. I also like Balam pichkari from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. It sets just the right mood for the occasion. What do you prefer to wear on Holi? Exactly what Rekha wore in the song Rang barse — white kurta with lots of colourful bangles! I make it a point to wear eastern clothes on Holi and that too only in white. Have you ever had bhang on Holi? Just once. And I have vowed never to try it again. What a horrifying experience it was. I was having hallucinations that I was about to die. Later my parents told me I was only crying and saying, ‘Ami more jachhi, amake banchao!’ It got me really unwell. Now I stay a thousand miles away from bhang. Have you ever done a Holi sequence in a film? Sadly, no. My directors only make me dance in Durga Puja sequences. I would really like to do a Holi dance number in one of my films. Hope the directors are reading this (laughs). Any special person you want to smear colour on this special day? Bradley Cooper. I want him to smear me with red abir and vice versa. Can you organise? (winks)