Good to have a bath on your birthday, jokes Shah Rukh Khan

For many years now, Hindi film star Shah Rukh Khan has made it a practice to celebrate his birthday with members of the media.

This year, he decided to conflate his birthday celebration and the launch of the trailer of his next film Zero (2018), directed by Aanand L Rai.

Like the interactions every year, this year too some inane questions were posed to the star. Like how he spent his day. Witty as ever, Khan replied, “I bathe on my birthday. It is a good thing. Always remember on your birthday to take a bath. Otherwise, jumma jumma hi hota hai mera [I only bathe once a week].” The quip could also be seen as a dig at some anti-Muslim fanatics.

On a more serious note, Khan continued, “I just meet people. So, I don’t do anything special. I just meet people and it feels good because even after all these years people love me despite my antics.”

Khan also revealed an unusual gift he received from his youngest child, AbRam. “AbRam gave me an old Diwali gift by making it a happy birthday present. He said, ‘Papa, it’s your birthday. Here’s a gift.’ He just opened somebody else’s gift and gave it to me. Mere bachche bade dilwale hain [My kids are large-hearted]," he joked.

Earlier in the day, crowds thronged outside his bungalow Mannat in Bandra, Mumbai, like they do every year. This time, a similar crowd was seen outside the venue of the trailer launch, Carnival Imax Wadala.