Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan turned 64 on Wednesday, but he will not celebrate it in a grand style as his mother is not keeping well.

His mother Teji Bachchan is unwell and the star will be spending time with his family on his birthday. "I will be at home with the family. There will be no celebration as such because my mother is unwell for some time now," Bachchan said last week at a promotional event.

But for the hundreds of fans who will gather outside the Bachchan residence "Pratiksha" in suburban Juhu to catch a glimpse of the star on his birthday, this will make little difference.

Every year, the star comes out in the balcony to greet his fans who gather outside to meet him from all over the country. This year's birthday celebration, however, will be more subdued than earlier years when the Bachchans held huge parties to celebrate the big B's birthday.

Amitabh's 60th birthday especially was celebrated in a grand manner where his company AB Corp was launched and a book written by Jaya Bachchan on him was released.

"It is only in the last few years that he has had some public celebration, like for his 60th birthday, and a couple of years later when he launched the film Viruddh.

But otherwise his birthday celebrations take place within the closed doors of his house," says Pradeep Chandra, who has written a biography on the star.