Holi is a 1984 Indian film, directed by Ketan Mehta, whose socially conscious work has been compared to American director, Spike Lee. The film is based on eponymous play by Marathi writer, Mahesh Elkunchwar. The film starred Aamir Khan, Ashutosh Gowariker, Om Puri, Shreeram Lagoo, Deepti Naval and Naseeruddin Shah.

In a typical college in a typical Indian city, the hostel boys Madan Sharma (Aamir Khan) and his friends including Ranjeet Prakash (Ashutosh Gowariker) are a rowdy and troublesome lot. But on one particular day, when Madan and his friends find out there will not be a holiday for them on the day of Holi, the festival of colors, the boys decide not to attend the classes.

The hostel superintendent Professor Singh (Naseeruddin Shah), the only lecturer with some links with the students, watches with apprehension their growing restlessness. A notice announcing a further postponement of examinations adds to the bitterness. A fight erupts out of nowhere between principal Phande's (Om Puri) nephew and another student, in which the principal's nephew is hurt and the other boy is promptly rusticated. This is seen as a drastic punishment, and the news spreads like wildfire to all the students of the college. Resistance is organized in the library, in the laboratory, in the classrooms and the college grounds as the students rebel against the principal.

Holi (Hindi: होली) is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. It is primarily observed in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and countries with large Indic diaspora populations following Hinduism, such as Suriname, Malaysia, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, United Kingdom, United States, Mauritius, and Fiji. It is also known as Phagwah and Festival of Colours, or as Doḷajāta (Oriya: ଦୋଳଯାତ) in Orissa and Dol Jatra (Bengali: দোলযাত্রা) or Basantotsav ("spring festival") (Bengali: বসন্তোৎসব) in West Bengal. The most celebrated Holi is in the Braj region, in locations connected to the Lord Krishna: Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandagaon, and Barsana, which become tourist destinations during the season of Holi. Large parts of South India, however, do not celebrate Holi with the same fervour.

In Vaishnavism, Hiranyakashipu is the great king of demons, and he had been granted a boon by Brahma, which made it almost impossible for him to be killed. The boon was due to his long penance, after which he had demanded that he not be killed "during day or night; inside the home or outside, not on earth or in the sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra nor by shastra". Consequently, he grew arrogant and attacked the Heavens and the Earth. He demanded that people stop worshipping Gods and start praising respectfully to him.

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. The process of filmmaking has developed into an art form and industry.

Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating – or indoctrinating – citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue into the language of the viewer.

Films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement.

Aamir Hussain Khan (pronounced [ˈaːmɪr ˈxaːn]) (born 14 March 1965) is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema.

Starting his career as a child actor in his uncle Nasir Hussain's film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Khan began his professional career eleven years later with Holi (1984) and had his first commercial success with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). He received his first National Film Award as a Special Jury Award for his roles in the films Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Raakh (1989). After eight previous nominations during the 1980s and 1990s, Khan received his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the major grosser Raja Hindustani (1996) and later earned his second Best Actor award for his performance in the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan, which also marked the debut of his own production company.

Following a four-year break from acting, Khan made his comeback playing the title role in the historical Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), and later won a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for his role in Rang De Basanti (2006). The following year, he made his directorial debut with Taare Zameen Par, for which he received a Filmfare Award for Best Director. This was followed by Ghajini (2008), which became the highest grossing film of that year, and 3 Idiots (2009), which became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time, unadjusted for inflation. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2003 and the Padma Bhushan in 2010 for his contributions towards the arts.

Ashutosh Gowariker (Marathi: आशुतोष गोवारिकर) (born 15 February 1964) is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer. He is known for directing the films Lagaan (2001), Swades (2004), Jodhaa Akbar (2008), What's Your Raashee (2009) and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey (2010). He was nominated for an Academy Award and European Film Award, and has won a number of other awards, including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, and seven international film festival awards. He also became a voting member for the Academy Awards in 2005.

Ashutosh Gowariker was born in a Maharashtrian family. He belongs to a Maratha family of Ashok Gowariker (father) and Kishori Gowariker (mother). He is married to Sunita and they have two sons - Konark & Vishwang.

Ashutosh Gowariker started his career as an actor, making his debut in 1984 in director Ketan Mehta's movie, Holi. On the Holi sets, Ashutosh met Aamir Khan. After that, he acted in several television serials, including Kachchi Dhoop (1987), Circus (1989), C.I.D. (1998) and several films, including Naam (1986), Chamatkar (1992), and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1993).