/> "This has got to be the worst birthday of my life," sighs Aftab Shivdasani who turned 28 on Sunday.

"It could've been worse. I was supposed to be in Karachi for the premiere of Mughal-e-Azam. But that got postponed because of Javed Akhtar Saab's visa problem. Otherwise I'd have missed that too."

Aftab tried hard to remain cheerful in spite of his illness. "It's a setback. I had to cancel a few days of Vikram Bhatt's Red. But it can't be helped."

So it's a lonely bed-ridden birthday for Aftab? "Not quite that tragic," he chuckles. "My close friends, none of whom are from the film industry, will probably drop by in the evening."

And yes on the evening before, special friend Yana Gupta had dropped in. "She came with two cakes. One for me and one for my father. We share our birthday. My father turned 59 this year. We usually go out for dinner with my mom to celebrate or birthday jointly. But this year we're all at home."