Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 3, 2016)

On Tuesday dawning into Wednesday, Bollywood’s Badshah rang in his 51st birthday at his Alibaug bungalow in true filmi style with a few select friends, including familiar regulars, Karan Johar and Kajal Anand, new entrant Ranbir Kapoor with bestie Ayan Mukerji, couples Sanjay Kapoor with wife Maheep and Chunky Panday with wife Bhavana, party girls Zoya Akhtar and Shweta Bachchan. Wife Gauri and daughter Suhana were the perfect hostesses. Son Aryan Khan who is schooling in the US missed all the fun but had daddy cool beaming all day with his ‘bossy’ wishes, “He can play like a kid, give advice like a friend and protect like a bodyguard. Happy Birthday to you. We love you boss man.”

A source present at the bash told Mirror that the guests started streaming in on Tuesday afternoon and were ferried around in golf carts. “They stayed put at the bungalow till the next day, chatting all night. The cake was cut at the dot of midnight after which there were a lot of fun games with the celebs and kids competing with each other. This was followed by a lavish dinner by the seaside,” informed the source, adding that while the grown-ups had their party, Suhana and her girl gang of Shanaya Kapoor and Ananya Panday had their own little celebration.


Suhana Khan, Ananya Pandey and Shanaya Kapoor

On Wednesday afternoon, the actor arrived in Mumbai by helicopter. He hopped off at Pavan Hans and drove back home to Mannat. Wife Gauri opted for a speedboat and disembarked at the Gateway of India.

Later in the evening, SRK stretched out his arms in his trademark style and blew kisses to fans waiting outside. Accompanying him was younger son AbRam, both colour co-ordinated in black.
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Mannat to new Alibaug villa, back to Mannat, SRK lives it up on his 51st
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 3, 2016)

It is unusual for Shah Rukh Khan to not wave out to the sea of humanity hollering outside Mannat first thing on his birthday. Also unusual is not calling over media friends for a tea party in the evening, where they are mostly served his favourite dishes from Delhi.

It was almost worrying to know that King Khan may finally be too grown up for birthday parties. He set out to Alibaug with family and pals on Tuesday night. Karan Johar, Ranbir Kapoor and Ayan Mukerji were among the first to land up at his new Alibaug bungalow done up by wife Gauri. The actor prefers the solitude that the sea offers, but his guests let him have none of it.

Daughter Suhana’s BFF Shanaya (daughter of actor-turned-producer Sanjay Kapoor) clocked in her 17th birthday on SRK’s birthday eve. Chunky Pandey’s daughter, Ananya, was also there. Shweta Bachchan, Imtiaz Ali and Zoya Akhtar joined the party gang, though SRK’s close friend Farhan, who is busy promoting Rock On 2, couldn’t make it. The party went on till wee hours of Wednesday and by the time the paparazzi tracked their whereabouts, it was time for SRK to be back in Mumbai.

An onlooker tells us, “Photographers waiting outside his Alibaug house were asked to return to Mumbai with an assurance that Shah Rukh would pose for pictures at Mannat. Soon after they dispersed, SRK took off to the hangar to fly back to Mumbai.”

Not willing to disappoint fans who had been camping outside his house hours before his birthday, he returned to Mannat by 6:30 pm. As the crowd screamed out his name, SRK climbed the fence of his terrace and waved at the surging crowd. With the sun setting in the background, it was a spectacle to behold.

At the strike of dawn, preparation of a mega party began. Those who couldn’t be present at Alibaug, wouldn’t miss this one. We could almost hear Shah Rukh say, “Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!”