Sibling love: TV celebs share thoughts on Raksha Bandhan
Mumbai : Small screen actors like Karan Kundra, Sourabh Raaj Jain, Sumit Kaul and Aditi Sharma are all praise for their brothers or sisters ahead of Raksha Bandhan on Sunday.
Here's what they have to say about the festival:
* Karan Kundra: Raksha Bandhan is a very special occasion in my life as I have grown up in a home where I have been treated as a prince by my family, comprising women. I have always been around three sisters. It is a wonderful feeling to be a brother. This year mostly, I will be shooting for my show "Dil Hi Toh Hai" and won't be able to celebrate this occasion with them.
* Debina Bonnerjee: I always thought that when you have your own sibling, you do not need an artificially made up relationship. But as time passed by, I realised Romanch Mehta is not just a friend, but more like a brother whom I can trust, I can fight with and I can ask for things and gifts without thinking too much about it.
* Sourabh Raaj Jain: Apart from my two sisters, I also have one sister I made during my school days. Sudeepti Karmakar happened to live two houses ahead of my house. We went to the same school and tuition classes.
After my real sisters got married, I was still studying in school back then. So Sudeepti and I developed a strong bond. We are still in touch even though she moved to the US after her marriage.
* Kanika Maheshwari: Sajid Khan is a brotherly figure to me. We share a very special brother-sister bond which I value a lot. He is my lie detector. He knows how to get me to speak my heart out, which is what I respect about him the most.
* Sumit Kaul: I have several cousin sisters who have been my support system throughout my life. I have fought with them, confided in them. There is an unsaid commitment to one another. One person who hasn't been a blood relative and yet I regard as family is Aashka Goradia. She has never tied me a Rakhi and no we don't consider each other brother or sister, but there is that same unsaid commitment to each other that I feel with my sisters.
* Dhrisha Kalyani: I celebrate Rakhi every year with my cousins. They never let me feel that I do not have a younger brother. Whenever we get the time to be together, we have lots of fun. One of my cousin's name is Mihir. He is just one year older to me. He is my partner in crime at home and we do a lot of mischief and get scolded as well. I have a brother named Yash who lives in Russia. He appreciated my work in the show "Mere Sai".
* Sameksha: Nowadays I'm busy shooting for my show "Porus" in Gujarat which is far away from Mumbai. My brother Naveen and I have never treated each other like brother and sister. Interestingly, we have always behaved as if we are both brothers. We fight the same way two brothers would fight with each other. On each and every Rakhi, I ask him for a gift but he never gets me one. On the other hand, he asks me to give him gifts on Rakhi. My older brother is also my critic. Whatever work I do, he will always give me correct advice and will also tell me where I can improve.
* Ashi Singh: This year I'm feeling lucky because my brother is in Mumbai so I will get to celebrate Rakhi with him. Every year I used to send Rakhi through post. I would love to get any gift from my older brother because he never gifts me anything. He is a miser and doesn't really know what would be the perfect gift for me. My brother is also very caring. I plan to invite him to watch our shoot of "Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai".
* Abeer Soofi: This year I will miss being with my cousin sisters. I always choose the Rakhi that my sisters would tie on my wrist. If I get time, I would love to travel to my hometown and celebrate Rakhi. My sisters are happy for my show "Mere Sai".
* "Kundali Bhagya" actor Abhishek Kapur: I always celebrate Raksha Bandhan with my younger sister Saanchi and eight of my cousin sisters. As a kid, I used to play pranks on my sister a lot. Today, we look back at those memories lovingly and laugh over it. Every year on Raksha Bandhan, my sisters make it a point to get me to touch their feet one by one, record it and share it with everyone in the family. It is all in good spirit and fun.
* "Kaleerein" actress Aditi Sharma: Raksha Bandhan is very special for me this year as my brother recently moved to Mumbai to live with me. It will be totally fun having him around. We have planned a grand and elaborate dinner with our cousins this year.
* "Yeh Teri Galiyaan" actress Vrushika Mehta: The occasion of Raksha Bandhan is always special and memorable for my brothers and me. In fact, I am blessed to have such great, protective and loving brothers.