HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAUAHAR KHAN

There will be a low-key celebration for the actor after a loss in the family

Actor Gauahar Khan (above) turns 34 today. She shares that her fans have been making her day special year after year with their love and sweet gestures. This time, gifts started pouring in a few days in advance. “It’s such a lovely experience. Recently, I met two girls from Chandigarh and Pune who had started my first fan club, Team Gauahar. They flew down to Mumbai to meet me, and wanted to give the gifts the fan club received from my fans in UK, Canada, Pakistan, and different parts of India. It was overwhelming. This has been happening for long, and since [I won] Bigg Boss [season 7 in 2013], my fan base has increased,” says Gauahar. Calling her fans her “crazy lot”, she adds, “They are as crazy as I am... They send me so much love, it makes me wonder if I’m worth it all.” A small party with her loved ones is how Gauahar usually celebrates her birthday. But this year, there is a loss in her family that she doesn’t want to talk about, and so, will just go for a quiet dinner with sister, Nigaar Khan, and close friends. “We’re not in the right state of mind. Also, my parents are not in town,” she says. Asked about how the day was spent during childhood, Gauahar recalls that her mother always made the day special for her. “Being the youngest in the family, I was pampered a lot by her. Even if financially a year was not okay for us, we’d travel from Pune to Mumbai by train to buy a new frock, my most favourite gift. This happened till I was in class eight. Then one day, I wore my birthday frock for an annual event at school and realised that my friends were wearing skirts and jeans. I remember telling my mother to upgrade to something else next time onwards,” laughs Gauahar.

PHOTO: YOGEN SHAH