It was what Nawazuddin Siddiqui calls the most memorable birthday of his life. He celebrated his 39th birthday with friends like Anurag Kashyap, Madhu Mantena, Vikas Behl and Tannishta Chatterjee at Cannes. But he had nothing special to wear.

“What to do,” asked the brilliant actor, who has four films in various sections at the ongoing 66th Cannes International Film Festival. “I had no time to get myself any clothes. ‘Ek suit ghar pe padaa hua tha jo pehla pehna nahin tha. Bas wohi lekar aa gaya’.(There was a suit at home that I hadn’t worn. I took it and came here),” said Nawaz who turned a year older Sunday.

But clothes certainly don’t make this actor’s life.

“I feel blessed. To have four of my films here at Cannes, is like a dream. On Saturday we had a screening of ‘Monsoon Shootout’. On Sunday there were screenings of ‘Lunchbox’ and ‘Bombay Talkies’. They were so well-received. I couldn’t have hoped for a better birthday gift,” said the actor.

In the night Nawaz’s friends hosted a birthday bash for him.

“I had lots to celebrate this year. The overwhelming response to my films at Cannes is the highest point in my journey of the last one year.”

“For 13 years I was given no room to grow as an actor. ‘Kuch bhi milta tha main kar leta’ (I accepted what came my way). ‘Gangs Of Wasseypur’ changed my life. Today, I feel I’ve just begun my life. So this is my first birthday,” he said.