From Salman Khan’s bracelet to Deepika Padukone’s temple visits, here’s a look at Bollywood celebrity superstitions

Today let’s talk about lucky charms – those little things that signify to us that we are channeling good luck our way. Or, those tiny rituals we’ve thought of ourselves that make us feel like we’ve weather-proofed our luck. The good news is, you are not alone. Check out these weird and wonderful superstitions Bollywood celebs indulge in to try to reel in Lady Luck.

‘Jawaani Jaaneman’ actor Alaya F’s got a magic mantra: saying ‘touchwood’ and tapping on wood. ”Ever since I’ve joined this industry, or ever since things have started going nicely for me, I’ve started doing this touchwood thing. If you have a conversation with me, I’ll probably touchwood at least five times during the course of it. And if I don’t find some wood, I find myself knocking on my head. It’s the funniest thing because of the number of times I do it in a day. Touchwood, touchwood...!” she told a media outlet.

Visualisation is key for ‘Highway’ actor Alia Bhatt who has a penchant for role playing in her bathroom, enacting dreams so they may come true.

Her boyfriend, actor Ranbir Kapoor had also admitted to some odd habits in an interview with Indian media. “Strangely, I had two of them. When I was younger and when I used to go to school. On my way, if I saw a red mail truck, I used to cross my fingers, shut my mouth and make a wish and until I saw three black cars on the road, I didn’t uncross my fingers or speak a word.” He continued, “This went on for a really long time till the time my wishes stopped coming true. The second thing would probably be my fixation to number 8. I don’t know how it started as my mum’s birthday is on July 8 but I just fell in love with the design of the number and the fact that it also can be infinity.”

Before a movie release, Deepika Padukone must do this one thing – she must visit the Siddivinayak Temple in Prabhadevi. She’s been there before releases including ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’, ‘Chennai Express’ and ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela’.

Like Padukone, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ actress Katrina Kaif also has a special visit to make before a movie releases. Hers is Ajmer Sharif. She visits the dargah there in full star regalia – hats, sunglasses and face coverings. She’s still been stopped there though, before the release of films including ‘Dhoom 3’, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ and ‘New York’.

Fitness and lifestyle guru-cum-actor Shilpa Shetty is an IPL fan with a couple of unusual tricks to ensure her team wins. She wears to watches while cheering her side. Plus, reportedly, the Rajasthan Royals’ owner sits cross-legged when the opposition is up to bat and changes it up when her side is on. Does it work? Who knows – but we are sure it’s fun to watch.

Anushka Sharma apparently is similarly superstitious about her movie release dates. Her hits – ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ (2008), ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ (2010) and ‘Ladies VS Ricky Bahl’ (2011) – have been released at the end of the year, cementing the belief.

Bling time with big brother. Salman Khan loves a sapphire bracelet that’s believed to have been given to him by his dad, Salim Khan. We know of the attachment because Khan reportedly misplaced the bracelet once while partying and wouldn’t stop searching until it was found.

Sanjay Dutt loves cars – his supercars include a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Bugatti Veyron - but he needs his license plates to be special. The numbers need to add up to ‘9’, his lucky number.

Another actor who’s a bit moony eyed about cars is the well-known Shah Rukh Khan. On his rides, the licence plates stay the same: 555. When the number is missing, so is he.

For Aamir Khan, it’s all about timing. He is of the impression that if his movies release at Christmas time, they are lucky – they usually turn out to be hits. The list that proves the idea includes ‘Taare Zameen Par, ‘Ghajini, ‘3 Idiots’ and ‘Dhoom 3’.

Vidya Balan’s seeing red. And that’s a good thing. This leading lady feels that red is her lucky colour and anything she does wearing the hue will do well. "The ‘Dirty Picture’ was such a huge hit that she feels red is her lucky colour and so she insisted on doing the song [in the film ‘Ferrari Ki Sawari’] in a red sari," director Rajesh Mapuskar explained. "The result is looking fantastic."