by Subhash K Jha
How does he do it??!! It's the morning after the birthday. On his birthday, after shooting non-stop for KBC the entire day, the Big B was up most of the night receiving greetings and congratulations from friends and fans.

The next morning he's up bright and early ready to face another day. He's elated by the enthusiasm for his birthday.

"It was very very hectic, very emotional. The things they do to prove their love for me!...It's scary. Because the only way I can repay their love is through my work. And I wonder if that's enough! My phone stopped functioning! I could see numbers flashing but I couldn't receive calls after a point."

"It was very tough to get out in the morning to go to work. There were thousands of people outside. I had to somehow leave for KBC. At the studio, it was a jamboree. Star had organized all kinds of wonderful events. We had to record two episodes. So it was like juggling a number of events together."

What about the birthday bash that a section of the media mentioned?

"There was no plan for a party, as far as I knew. I later got to know Jaya and Abhishek had planned something. But we had to cancel it due to the earthquakes. It would've been insensitive to celebrate when so many thousands are suffering. My well-wishers are the ones who make my birthdays special. If they are in a dire situation how could I celebrate?"

The Big B lights up at the mention of the enthusiasm shown by the KBC team for his birthday.

"They had lit up and decorated the entire studio like a dream. Every area from my makeup room to the set was decorated. The whole place was done up with huge flower trees and Christmas trees with candles lit all over. It was just so so so beautiful.... I felt I had entered a different world...Every year people surprise me more and more with their love and enthusiasm. I'm blessed. Ab bahut ho gaya."

The tv channels airplayed alleged details about AB's lifetsyle.

"So I believe. I couldn't watch it. But so-called information about my huge car- watch- and pen- collections were all highly exaggerated... Where have I got eleven cars???? I'm glad they want me to own so many cars. I wish I could."

Now the birthday is over. But the fans thronged outside the Bachchan bungalow until 3 in the morning. "It was unbelievable! My family and close friends were sitting together till quite late in the night. The people outside the gate just kept standing, hordes and hordes of them. It was overwhelming. I kept going out to meet them at half-hour intervals. But it just wasn't enough."

A man called Soni had cycled all the way from Delhi to meet his idol on his birthday. "I met him on my birthday . Then I met him again this morning. He had gone to great lengths ...written such beautiful words..I was overwhelmed."

AB is rushing off to dub, and then inaugurate Yash Chopra's swanky new hi-tech studio with Asia's Nightingale. "It's always a pleasure to share a platform with Lataji. And when it's for someone whom we both are so fond of(Yash Chopra) then the pleasure is double."

After the inauguration he flies off to Bikaner to complete the shooting of Vinod Chopra's Eklayya? "Where do I get the energy to work so much? Now you know. It comes from my well –wishers," he says as he rushes off for another day of crammed commitments.