Anjula Acharia, Jessel Taank, Rhea Raj, and More Celebrate Diwali at the All That Glitters Ball

Feathers brushed, mirrored embellishments flashed, and friends paused for overdue embraces on the red carpet outside Ambassadors Clubhouse on Saturday evening. The draw? The “All That Glitters” Diwali Ball—Anjula Acharia’s annual celebration of South Asian culture, community, and creativity, presented by Lexus and benefiting South Asian Youth Action.

The dress code was “Diamonds & Light,” and guests had taken both parts seriously, arriving in embellished saris, plumed dupattas, and lehengas whose shisha, or “mirror work,” caught the light with every greeting. Singer Rhea Raj wore a custom plum Falguni Shane Peacock two-piece—her “Bollywood Cher moment”—while Revolve’s Divya Mathur chose a gilded set from the same label, its namesake bird tucked into her choli for eagle-eyed fashion followers.

Jessel Taank wore a draped Tarun Tahiliani halter gown and matching maang tikka; Poorna Jagannathan opted for “something traditional and untraditional” by Rahul Mishra. “This is my first All That Glitters Ball, so I’m definitely a little over-stimmi right now,” joked actor Anirudh Pisharody. “Emphasis on the glitter, like I’m definitely blinded by it.”

After fielding a steady stream of affectionate greetings, Acharia—unmissable in feathered cuffs and a sweeping Falguni Shane Peacock train—welcomed the room. “Tonight is my love letter to New York City and all the South Asians here that are rising and thriving,” she said. Bela Bajaria, Mira Nair, and Anita Chatterjee also offered remarks. Nair recalled lighting candles at home on Riverside Drive decades earlier, hoping others would understand the holiday. Now, much had changed: her son, Zohran Mamdani, was the city’s mayor, for one, and she was celebrating Diwali with a roomful of revelers in their glittering best. “It’s a very far cry from that to this glam event,” she said. Chatterjee remembered Acharia’s early ambition to make Diwali widely known. Her verdict? “Anjula, mission accomplished.”

Notables included Aasif Mandvi, Alok Menon, Amrit Kaur, Anirudh Pisharody, Aryan Simhadri, Avantika Vandanapu, Bela Bajaria, Divya Mathur, Falguni and Shane Peacock, Falu Shah, Jay Sean, Jessel Taank, Melanie Chandra, Mira Nair, Nimesh Patel, Poorna Jagannathan, Pritika Swarup, Rhea Raj, Sheetal Sheth, Kruti Patel Goyal, Reshma Saujani, Robert Kyncl, Rohan Oza, Anita Chatterjee, Nandini Vaid, and more.