Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; September 22, 2015)

Kareena Kapoor Khan stepped into the 35th spring of her life yesterday with husband Saif Ali Khan and her best pals by her side. The celebrations began a day in advance with Saif flying to Delhi, where the actress is shooting for R Balki’s Ki and Ka, and springing one surprise after another on her.

Saif took her to the Pataudi Palace in Haryana where he had made special arrangements for a pre-birthday party, sources say, adding that he had started planning for Bebo’s big day at least three months in advance. “Kareena has taken a week-long break from her shoot to bring in her birthday. Her sister, Karisma Kapoor and besties including Amrita Arora Ladak and Malaika Arora Khan also flew to Delhi to be part of her bash. Saif surprised her by ordering in some special sushi and catered food from Thailand. On the platter was also yummy Awadhi cuisine prepared by a famous Delhi caterer,” reveals a source.

The palace was decorated with restored art pieces from the 1930s. A source says, “Saif also flew down some of her friends from the UK and US for the two back-to-back parties for his Begum.”

Post celebrations, Kareena will head to Dubai to resume the shoot of Ki and Ka. Her spokesperson says, “She had a royal birthday celebration at the Pataudi Palace with close friends and family. It was a private two- day affair.”