For the first time in the 14 years that they have been married, Mahesh Babu was not with his wife Namrata Shirodkar on January 22, the day she turned a year older. “It couldn’t be helped,” sighed Namrata as she brought in her birthday at the Taj Falaknuma Palace with her closest friends for company. “Mahesh had no choice. His film Maharshi is on the verge of release. There was no way he could get away from the final lap of shooting for a day. Nor could I fly to be with him since our son’s exams are on. I can’t behave like a newly-married bride and throw a tantrum about it and ask him to fly down to be with me for the day. It is okay. We will have our own belated private celebration later,” the lady says.
Cheering up, she says she was having a great time. “My five ‘forever’ friends, all from Mumbai, flew down to make this day special for me. They’ve been with me for years and years. I never had any close friends in the Mumbai film industry when I was working there. I don’t have any in the Andhra film industry. I think it is important to have a group of non-filmy friends. They keep you stable and sane.”
Her birthday wishes? “Please pray that Mahesh and I remain happily together for all times to come, and that our children grow up with the right values,” she says.
