The world is changing. And traditions are changing with it.

Hindu festival of Holi is regarded as a traditional festivity celebrated by all with vibrant colors. For centuries, widows were not allowed to participate and dab themselves with any colors. It was only in the past few years, the Supreme Court in India ruled that anyone can participate in the Holi festival.

In director Vikas Khanna’s The Last Color, it is a fictionalized story of a young nine-year-old street girl, who befriends a 70-year-old widow living a colorless life of abstinence. In this friendship of very opposite people, the two friends touched each other’s lives in a story of love, friendship, and commitment.

The film stars Neena Gupta, Aqsa Siddiqui, Rudrani Chhetri, and Rajeshwar Khanna. The story is directed and written by Khanna.

LRM Online sat down with director Khanna last month in Los Angeles to discuss The Last Color. We talked about the changing traditions, festivities, the widows and the original girl that the character was based off.

The Last Color is Khanna’s directorial debut. He is a James Beard Award nominee and Michelin star chef. In the culinary world, he is one of the top authorities in Indian cuisine with several successful cooking shows, including MasterChef India, Twist of Taste and National Geographic’s Mega Kitchens. He has authored more than twenty-five cookbooks. He has also been a guest on MasterChef Australia, Martha Stewart, Hell’s Kitchen, Beat Bobby Flay and Gordan Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares as Top Indian Chef in New York City.

Watch our exclusive interview with the director and Michelin-star chef Vikas Khanna above.

The film is playing in select theaters.

Source: LRM Online Exclusive