Holi in the star circuit is an ego trip of sorts. The tradition of throwing Holi party is a kind of stamp as to who is the greatest showman in Bollywood. This was started by Raj Kapoor, the showman, to beat all showmen. And, after him a number of wannabes tried to make the crown theirs, it didn't fit well.

Among them were Subhash Ghai, the self-styled showman, the Yash Chopras, the-aspiring-to-be-the-first-family-of filmdom and the Bachchans, but none of them could sustain the lavishness it required.

And, the Holi parties, when they happen nowadays, are like afterthoughts hurriedly thrown for a few friends. So Shah Rukh Khan may be hosting one, or Yash Chopra's sons may be inviting their inner circle of friends. Earlier, one of the happening parties used to held at Janki Kutir, the house of Shabana's parents, but that was post-Raj Kapoor.

Invitees remember the parties at Azmis as being the most fun-filled affairs with colour, bhang, song and dance with everyone singing and playing along. This was the adda where the IPTA theatre group members met and the entire theatrical world used to be present. Raj Kapoor’s parties were of course something else. The food was hosted by Jhama's - the samosas and jalebis are still remembered by the invitees.

Sitara Devi, the classical dancer recalls, "I'd dance with Rajji, everyone was dunked in the pool as a matter of course."

Neetu Singh reveals, "Despite the revelry, women were not touched. Only the men were thrown in, but everyone danced and sang and had a whale of a time."

All invitees at Raj Kapoor’s parties were supposed to see himself as one who had "arrived”, so everyone vied for an invite. Of course, there were gatecrashers always.

Subhash Ghai threw Holi parties for three years at his Madh Island bungalow and then stopped. Yash Chopra too had Holi parties till the death of a close friend (so say people in the know) last year.

These parties are meeting places and forums to get introduced. Like Perizaad Zorabian says, "Last year I was invited by Uday Chopra and I met Shah Rukh Khan there. He was very sweet, he came up and spoke to me."

Those who attended Bachchan's party at his bungalow were ecstatic for evermore - they have stories to tell like Ruby Bhatia says, "I once found myself taking a shower next to Mr Bachchan himself. They had showers in the garden for revelers to wash off the colours!"

When Shah Rukh bought his opulent bungalow in Bandstand he threw his first Holi party which everybody in the film industry attended. As traditional behoves everyone was dunked into a pool of water. It was mandatory to get wet. After which the victim was allowed to dry up and then dry powder was sprinkled over him. Invitees remember the fabulous food the star had on offer that day.

Most stars wait around to be invited to parties thrown by others. While some like Sonali Bendre, Alka yagnik and Rajeshwari hate Holi and hide in the house and wait for the day to pass off, most of them enjoy the jalebis and samosas, which seem to be part of the Holi revelries. Others like Suneil Shetty and Vishal Bharadwaj who have kids, go out and play with colours to introduce the tradition to their kids.

Mahima Choudhry, unless she's shooting, spends the day with her family, participates in the puja rituals and enjoys the sweets that go with it. Rani Mukherji parties with whoever invites her.

Sonali Kulkarni, the Maharashtrian mulgi, spends Holi in Pune with her friends and family doing the traditional thing - eating sweets wearing colourful clothes. Sonali loves to send Holi cards to friends, while Sonu Nigam who hails from Delhi, celebrates Holi with his family meeting up for the occasion.