In Indian cinema, shooting begins with the muhurat shot, “the first shot (or take) of a film marking the commencement of the principal photography.” “It is preceded by a pooja (religious rites).” The word comes from the Sanskrit muhurta. “Contemporarily it means ‘auspicious moment.'”
In November 2025 the actor Chiranjeevi gave the first clap at the muhurat ceremony of Spirit, the film of Prabhas and the director Sandeep Reddy Vanga.
Telangana’s new Secretariat in Hyderabad was inaugurated on April 30, 2023. “The concept of the new building is based on vaastu,” ThePrint reported. It added that “the distribution of entrances, cores, service cores and toilets is all according to Vaastu Shastra.”
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, whom ThePrint described as particular about “auspicious timings,” chose the period “between 1.20 pm and 1.40 pm” that Sunday to enter his chamber. The old Secretariat was demolished in 2020. The Chief Minister’s Office had cited its “frequent roof top collapses, power short circuit problems.”
In 2013 the title of Ekta Kapoor’s new film was changed to Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara! “I believe in astrology and numerology, but I will get to know (its effect) only after the release of the film,” she said.
Her company, Balaji Telefilms, made many serials with titles beginning with K. “Rarely does a serial with a prefix of K not do well on TV,” the trade magazine afaqs wrote in 2002. In October 2026 she spoke of the next season of her serial Naagin: “I can’t call it Naagin 8 na.” She explained: “It is not lucky.”
Qismat. The Rekhta dictionary gives “luck, fate, fortune, decree of God, destiny.”
Naseeb. Rekhta gives “fortune, lot, fate, destiny.”
Qismat ka likha ho kar rahta hai. What is written in fate comes to pass.
Uupar vaala. The one above. Rekhta gives “God, the supreme being.”
In the plural, uupar vaale, the ones above, Rekhta also gives “superiors, higher officers, betters.”
On October 8, 2019, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received India’s first Rafale fighter jet at Mérignac in France. It was Vijayadashami. He performed a shastra puja, the worship of weapons. He wrote “Om” on the jet and laid flowers and a coconut on it. Two lemons were placed under its wheels.
France’s defence minister, Florence Parly, said: “It is no coincidence that this ceremony falls on Dussehra.”
On Diwali, India’s stock exchanges hold a one-hour session called Muhurat trading. It marks the start of the new Samvat year. On October 21, 2025, the NSE and the BSE opened the session at 1:45 p.m. for the start of Samvat 2082.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched to the Moon on July 14, 2023. The day before, a team of ISRO scientists visited the Venkateswara temple at Tirupati. They took a miniature model of the spacecraft with them. ISRO’s chairman, S. Somanath, prayed at the Sri Chengalamma temple.
On March 6, 2026, Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented the state budget at 10:15 a.m. instead of 11 a.m. Rahu Kaala, a daily period of about ninety minutes that many regard as inauspicious, began at 10:30 that day.
He later said that his family and officials had advised him to avoid it. “I didn’t want to disappoint them or hurt their feelings,” he said. “This is the first time in my political career that I did so.” He added that he still does not believe in good or bad times.
Theivaththaan aagaa theninum muyarchidhan meyvaruththak kooli tharum. Even when fate does not allow success, effort pays the wages of the body’s labor. This is couplet 619 of the Thirukkural, in its chapter on perseverance.
Karmany evadhikaras te ma phaleshu kadachana. In a standard translation: “You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action.”
The line is verse 47 of the second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna speaks it to Arjuna on the battlefield.