Exclusive | Shiv Thakare shares a special birthday ritual that his family follows since childhood

Shiv got candid about his plans and fond memories, "I think the planning happens for my birthday celebrations in Mumbai. Where the party needs to be organised, where I have to decide on buying the cake or preparing the outfits. But my happiest celebrations have been that I do at home. I would sleep knowing that my family is preparing a surprise for me. They would light diyas according to my age, and we would have a little celebration where the elders would do a tilak. I really love it, for me, celebrating at home is very important. So I am celebrating my birthday at home first and then will catch a flight to Mumbai. To celebrate it with my Industry friends, I even have a career-related update for fans."

When asked about his precious gift, Shiv shared, "The fondest memory of gifts is that I used to get money in childhood to buy a new outfit. One would give me money for the shirt, but then I wanted to buy the shirt, pants and all. I would get one of the things on each birthday, and then I would gather them all as my precious. Now that we earned it, it did feel easy and small, but that feeling earlier was priceless. My mom, maasi, and all would give me money, and I would club it all and buy a set of outfits."

Shiv shares his birthday rituals

Shiv reveals that for him, his celebration with his family is really important. He would keep continuing to follow the same surprise every year, "It is all special when your whole family is with you. I feel that despite celebrating the day with stalwarts, I still want my family to celebrate it with me. And the tilak is extremely important for me because my mother applies it to my forehead."

Shiv further opened up about the rituals, "Talking about the rituals, it has been the diyas that my family lights for my birthday and the tilak that happens every year. Nazar utarte hai, and we make sure that we distribute food to the needy."