For his 60th birthday, Anil Kapoor got what he describes as the “most precious gift I've ever received in my life“ from Shabana Azmi ­ a book, The Curious Case of Anil Kapoor: 16 @ 60, ­ which traces his six-decade journey through write-ups from his mother, Nirmal Kapoor, sister Reena, brothers, Boney and Sanjay, friends, co-stars, directors and even his make-up man, Deepak.

Shabana ensured deadlines were met, proofed the copies herself, dug out pictures and even sat with the graphic designer Zain of Spenta Multimedia. “It made me so happy, nostalgic, sentimental...,“ says the actor, admitting that he had to stop Shabana after she'd read out three excerpts penned by his mum, Nirmal, Aamir Khan and Javed Akhtar, because he was too overwhelmed.

“Duniya mein apne jaise bas ik hain Anil Kapoor, Main unki khoobiyun ka bayaan kya karoon huzoor, Maaloom ye huwa hai huwi jab bhi unse baat, Har din hai MINDBLOWING, hai FANTASTIC har ik raat...Jisne bhi unko dekh liya hai vo dang hai Sonam ka father hai ye magar kitna young hai, Ye dieting ka jaadu hai ki gym ka hai asar, Lagti hai ladkiyon ki inhen aaj bhi nazar, Maana ki sab ye mehnat aur zid ke nishaan hain, Ab kis tarah hain, chhodiye, lekin jawaan hain...“: That's how Javed Akhtar's poem read.

Wife Sunita refused to go public with her feelings, reasoning she's “too private a person for this“, but unearthed two pictures from their wedding day which had survived the Mumbai floods. When Shabana asked why they were both looking so solemn, she reminisced with a laugh, “He was behaving as though tragedy had struck him and I was contemplating murdering him!“ Sonam begged off saying her schedule was crazy, younger daughter Rhea shot past the deadline and son Harshvardhan wasn't in the 'mind space' because he was shooting nights. Anil's mum revealed that an astrologer had predicted he'd become famous worldwide but she hadn't believed him then because “aisi baatein to sirf Raj Kapoor ke liye boli ja sakti hain“. Today, she's proud of her son.

Brother Boney remembered the first time Anil had shot for a film, Tu Payal Mein Geet, in which he'd played the young Shashi Kapoor. After the shoot he refused to remove his makeup, slept with it and even attended school the next day with it on because he wanted everyone to know that he had become a film actor.

Shabana, in her passage, informed how, at 10, Anil had travelled by bus all alone from Chembur to Peddar Road to take guitar lessons for the film. Yet she took an instant dislike to him when she once spotted him in black drainpipes and a red shirt with all the front buttons open. She reckoned he was a rich brat, a producer's son, and was horrified to learn that he'd been cast in a bit role in her film Ek Baar Kaho and she'd have to suffer him through a month-long schedule in Darjeeling.

However, she discovered that he was the opposite of the upstart she'd expected. He was hungry to learn and while the other youngsters couldn't wait to party after pack-up, Anil would hang around hoping to catch favour with the director, Lekh Tandon, so that he could be given at least one scene to make a mark. “Oh, how he wanted that song that was picturised on Dilip Dhawan! He didn't get it but he didn't let his disappointment turn into disenchantment,“ she remembers.

Anil found it hard to get a break as a hero because he looked too much like Raj Kiran. Once, when Rajkumar Barjatya told him he was good but he wanted someone younger, a frustrated Anil dragged his kid brother, who was playing cricket at the time, telling him he could take Sanjay. “His attitude was that koi to ghar mein hero ban jaye,“ Sanjay laughs.

He was impressed with N Chandra's script of Tezaab, but had no dates for two years. “Boney promised to give all cancelled dates for Tezaab provided I was ready to shoot at 48 hours' notice. We accepted and the film was completed in time,“ reveals Chandra while his co-star, Madhuri Dixit, recalls how in their first meeting she noticed a tall, lanky guy who kept checking his hair in the mirror. Subhash Ghai gives 25 reasons why Lakhan is his favourite actor, one of them being that “he is too envious of handsome stars but finds himself the most handsome in front of the mirror“.

Art director Bijon Das Gupta once complimented him on his efforts to remain fit telling him that he was giving contemporaries like Jackie Shroff a run for their money.“ Anil had retorted, “Jackie is not my competition. Shahid Kapoor and these guys, they are my competition.“

Aamir Khan shared how, around 13-14 years ago, when he was going through a broken marriage, he'd sit alone and drink till he passed out. “This self-destructive behaviour continued for a year-and-a-half. For some reason, he reached out to me. He would come over to spend time with me. He saw me spiralling out of control... He spoke to me, never about my situation, but about hope and films. He made me laugh,“ Aamir shares.

The director of his home production, Gandhi, My Father, Feroz Abbas Khan, calls Anil the Dale Carnegie of the Indian film industry. “If you want to have a good day, call him in the morning; if you want to have a great week, meet him in his gym, if you want a healthy life, have lunch with him; if you want a life exploding with possibilities, make him your friend for life.“

Padmini Kolhapure flashbacks to 1986 when they were shooting for the title track of their film Pyaar Kiya Hai Pyaar Karenge. Between shots Anil very seriously came up to her and proposed on behalf of his dear friend, Tutu Sharma, unaware that she and Tutu were already secretly courting. “Till today he can't get over it and keeps saying, 'Kya bevakoof banaya mujhey!' she chuckles.

Shekhar Kapur insists that his Mr India still needs to convince himself that he is successful and that's his most endearing quality. Nephew Arjun asserts, “He's defied the odds to become a star and he's defied the numbers to be 16 at 60... Happy birthday Anil Chachu stay Jhakaas forever!“ Jhakaas has become his memorable clarion class from the resolutely unmemorable Yudh. But film critic and long-term friend Khalid Mohamed reveals that nothing rattles Anil more than when he's asked to cry out loud, “Jhakaaaas!“ When a princeling of a royal family air-dashed from Rajasthan to B-town, wormed himself into the Kapoor residence, sprinted towards the actor, and yelled at the top of his voice, “Ekdum jhakaaas!“ AK blushed a bright red, asked the household staff to serve the Rajkumar a cup of tea, and skedaddled from the scene. He had to get to the gym for his afternoon work out anyway.