by Subhash K Jha

Popular tv star Iqbal Khan couldn't have hoped for a better 26 th birthday . His parents have joined him from his home in Kashmir, and his girlfriend Sneha has arranged for a small celebration at her home.

"But time has become my biggest enemy. Though work-wise this is the happiest birthday I could've hoped for .One of my shootings was cancelled .that gave me time to sleep late, relax. Then in the night I had to shoot for my serial. I rushed to Sneha's home to cut the cake."

Iqbal will soon be seen on the game show Wouldn't he prefer to be with his own girlfriend on the show? "Sony wanted 'Angad' and 'Krupa', the character from our hit serial Kaisa Yeh Pyarr Hai on the show. I know there's the danger of audiences seeing us as a real-life pair. But I make sure I talk about my girlfriend Sneha at every public performance, and I'll do so on Deal Ya No Deal."

And what's the marriage deal? "I first need to get ourselves a house....and some time to spend with the people I live. In fact one reason why I'm working through my birthday is because I want to be free on the 12th when my sister is coming to Mumbai. My parents who are here, can't take the Mumbai climate. They'll be going back home soon and I haven't found time to spend with them. Hopefully my career will be more streamlined this year."

Iqbal is delighted by the response that his little stint on Ekta Kapoor's Kaisa Yeh Pyarr Hai got him. "People have stopped calling me Angad and started calling me Mamu, the comic character that I played in Kaise Yeh Pyarr Hai , which means audiences haven't typecast me as one soap character. Iqbal Khan is still alive in their memory."

Laughs the tv star, "Last year Ekta Kapoor had gifted me with Kaisa Yeh Pyarr Hai for my birthday. Let's see what she has in store this time."