It’s Defy Superstitions Day. BT asks B-town stars about their pet superstitions and whether they’ll ever give them up

Call them irrational or plain absurd, superstitions are as easy to surrender to as they’re difficult to abandon. Take our stars from tinselville, for instance. From Amitabh Bachchan to Sanjay Dutt, and Kareena Kapoor to Govinda — they all resort to lucky mascots, gems, colours and charms.

Only a handful will consider defying superstitions. Actor Bobby Darling says he was extremely superstitious before, but is gradually giving it up. “Earlier, I would touch wood for almost everything and used to keep a block of wood in my bag; not anymore. I wear yellow on Thursdays since I’m a Vishnu devotee, and I won’t get rid of this habit. Fortunately for me, a cat crossing the road has always proven to be lucky,” he says.

But the age-old cat superstition still holds true for B-town belles. Actress Nagma waits for someone to cross the road once it’s crossed by the kali billi. And she isn’t the only one. Actress Riya Sen too believes in this one, along with a few others. Says Riya, “I also believe that making your pets dance, having scissors directly placed on your hand and staying in room No. 13 are all ill-omens. But I can ditch these if I want to,” she says.

Changing name spellings and being obsessed with a particular letter are also typical of Bollywood. The K fixation of Ektaa Kapoor, Karan Johar and Rakesh Roshan is well known. Jeetendra also reportedly changed his name before joining films. The other member of the Kapoor family to have changed the spelling of his name is actor Tusshar Kapoor. But, he says, “I can change it back to the original one and it won’t make a difference to me. I did it since my mom asked me to. I follow tarot card reader Sunita Menon’s advice, but I’m not superstitious otherwise,” he says.

Former Miss World Diana Hayden believes in just one superstition. “I throw salt over my left shoulder if I drop some. It doesn’t make any sense, but I can’t get rid of the habit and am very embarrassed about it,” she laughs.

Lucky stones are also popular in Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya wear huge white ones. Lata Mangeshkar considers her mammoth diamond ring lucky. And it was only after Shilpa Shetty’s astrologer mom Sunanda advised her to wear a yellow sapphire that she tasted success.

Actor Kunal Kapoor always leaves a bit of food on his plate after finishing his meal. “That’s more of a quirk than a superstition. I don’t do it thinking it’ll bring me good luck. It’s a childhood habit. That apart, I always touch wood and I don’t mind ditching that habit,” he says.