My Daughter Surprised Me Last Year By Playing The Piano For Me: Madhur Bhandarkar On His Last Birthday

Wish filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar on his birthday and he shyly says that it’s his daughter Siddhi (10) who celebrates the occasion with more excitement. “She surprised me last year by playing the Happy Birthday tune on the piano. I didn’t know that she had been learning to play the piano, especially for me! When I came back home in the night, on my last birthday, she surprised me with this gesture,” says Madhur, sounding hopeful that this year too his daughter would have planned a surprise for him.

Madhur says his daughter doesn’t let go of him, and he feels embarrassed to cut cake and blow candles, on his birthday. “I prefer spending time at a temple. And then, may be a quiet dinner with my family. My friends and family have many a times planned birthday parties for me, but I have told them not to as I am not comfortable celebrating my birthday. It makes me feel kind of awkward,” says the director of the recently released political thriller Indu Sarkar, starring actor Kirti Kulhari.

“The only thing about my birthday that makes it special is that I share the date with none other than Mother Teresa,” says Madhur with a laugh and nostalgia takes over him. “My mother used to dress me up like Lord Krishna, in my childhood. When I grew up, my parents organised small parties at home, and decorate the place with balloons... neighbourhood kids would join in for the celebrations. Those were the innocent and happier days,” he adds.

He is religious man at heart, and is therefore elated that this year his birthday has coincided with Ganesh Utsav. “My extended family, their kids and all of us have welcomed [Ganapati] Bappa at home. And I have prayed to the lord to bless everyone, and be there for me like he has always been,” says Madhur.