Aishwarya plans surprise birthday party for Abhishek

As Abhishek Bachchan turns 38 on February 5, his wife Aishwarya Rai has planned a surprise birthday party for him.

The party will be attended by close friends like Shah Rukh Khan, Rakeysh Mehra, Rohan Sippy, Apoorva Lakhia, Sikandar Kher, Bipasha Basu and Preity Zinta.

"We’ve been told to be very quiet about the party. We’re not even supposed to speak to one another about it," says a source.

Meanwhile, Abhishek is at work on his birthday.

"38 feels no different from 37 or 36," he says. "I still shoot my films the whole day and then return to my family. I  feel the same anxiety and  excitement facing the camera this birthday, as I did for J P Dutta saab on my 23rd birthday (Abhishek made his acting debut in Dutta's Refugee in 2000). Birthdays have always been a family affair and I hope it will be the same this year too."

So when will we see him share the screen with his gorgeous wife?

"Very soon, I hope," Abhishek says. "I enjoy working with her. We get a lot fan-mail asking us to be together again on screen. We’d be more than glad to get together."

Photographs: Tim P Whitby/Getty Images