India, Oct. 14 -- For actor-comedian Viraj Ghelani, known for Jawan (2023) and Govinda Naam Mera (2022), Navratri is a time when fame takes a back seat. He stops working after 6 pm, turns down lucrative offers and returns to the same garba grounds where he danced as a child, surrounded by friends who knew him long before he became a familiar face. "These days are mine. I won't share them with anyone," he says.

Such is his attachment to the festival that he puts work on hold for the nine nights, regardless of the money on offer. "At that time, I forget that I am an actor or a known person. I don't give a damn about all these things. I go back to my roots, to where I started celebrating Navratri and playing garba as a child," he says.

Ghe...