Anuj’s birthday bash!

Anuj Saxena seems to be becoming younger each year that he grows older. The young actor brought in his 39th birthday on 30 July along with mom Sneh, dad Jagdish and a bevvy of stars from the glitzy world of television.

The party was held at the Papillion Park restaurant in the Andheri suburb of Mumbai, and lo! just as the clock struck midnight, Anuj surprised one and all by announcing that he was celebrating his birthday by steering Elder Pharmaceuticals (founded by his Dad) into the restaurant business. And that he was taking over the very restaurant where the party was being held and rechristening it as Blue Waters. An ice sculpture revealing the new sobriquet was unveiled showing that he really meant business.

The birthday boy (Anuj was seen sporting a black suit and a little pony at the start of the party which later got unknotted) needless to say played the perfect host to all who graced the occasion. Among the first to arrive were Siddharth Kak, Rakesh Bedi and Amit Behl who dashed off as early as they came in. The same was the the case with Gourav Chanana, Mansi Joshi Roy and Rohit Roy.

Rucha Gujrathi walked in looking pretty a black halter dress while Tasnim Nerurkar came dressed in a blue sphagetti top with jeans along with co-star Arundhati. Surprisingly Nausheen Ali Sardar walked in along with her ex-boyfriend Vikas Kalantri and preferred to be in his company for the rest of the evening.

Rajesh Kumar along with his pretty wife Madhavi hung around with Sai (looking plump in a black tube top and skirt) and Shakti Anand while Kanchi Kaul who had donned a beige dress dropped in with her parents. Manish Goyal came in minus wife Poonam Narula and headed for the bar as soon as he walked into the party (incidentally he came though he had refused initially to make it to the party).

The Kumkum gang stuck together while Raymon Singh post motherhood looked slim and happier and chatted up a rather oddly dressed Juhi Parmar (who was seen in a feather white short dress looking a little uncomfortable in the attire).

Channel representation came in the shape of Sony's Gursheel Walia who wore an ankle length brown gown. The movie fraternity had the likes of Sharbani Mukherjee and Maushami Udeshi along with their respective boyfriends in tow grooving at the party.

Monaz, Shital Thakkar, Sampada, Usha Bacchani and Mahesh Thakur were seen hobnobbing with Manish Goswami and Gautam Adhikari. Narayani Shastri came dressed in a black gown with Gaurav Chopra who has just returned after shooting for a Hollywood film. Gaurav was seen strutting his dance steps to Narayani on the sidelines when dancing alone with her to the beats of Rang De Basanti. The Founder of The Indian Telly Awards Anil Wanvari too set the floor on fire with his prancy movements and was seen handing Anuj a French wine bottle as his

birthday present.

Anuj did an Ekta Kapoor act by forcing liquer and tequilla shots down his friend's throats. Not one of the guests escaped the bottle and the dropper as he finished at least three bottles in this manner.

The party place was done up with drapes and hanging cloth, and with an Arabian feel with gaddas (matteresses) near the bar. A tarot reader, fortune teller, palmist and mehndi walis were the added attraction and drew families and actors alike to them like bee to honey.

The best birthday gift Anuj received was from his Maverick Productions staff in the form of a cute little puppy, which became a center of attraction for one and all at the party.

The highlight of the evening was a performance by a blonde belly dancer dressed skimpily flown in from Russia who seemed to enthrall the crowd with her dance and later Anuj joined in to shake a leg or two with her. Ronit Roy seemed to make a guest appearance at the dance floor and post which he was only seen with the tarot reader perhaps getting a tip or two for the future.

The party continued till the wee hours of the morning and Anuj continued to be in high spirits attending to the guests and making them feel comfortable.