It was a night to remember for Sridevi. Boney Kapoor, Sri's husband of 17 years, stood at the entrance of a plush Sobo nightclub, welcoming a motley crew of guests, from politicians and socialites to the movers and shakers of Bollywood, who had come to celebrate her milestone birthday. The turnout was impressive but Shah Rukh Khan, Ekta Kapoor and more importantly, the Bachchans who were invited and eagerly expected, remained conspicuous by their absence. Neither did Arjun Kapoor, Boney's son with the late Mona Kapoor show up. Inside the club, reworked posters of Sri's most successful films, right from Yash Chopra's Chandni to Lamhe to Chaalbaaz and her comeback hit English Vinglish adorned the purple-black interiors, while Nagina imprints lit up the bar. And when the age-defying diva arrived with her teenage daughter in tow; the crowd of photographers gathered outside the venue went berserk. From what TOI learnt, Sridevi knew of the party days in advance, but wasn't prepared for such an assorted line-up of nostalgia. "It's an overwhelming sight. I feel fortunate to have such a doting husband," she told us. She may have been overwhelmed but we later heard Sri asking the organisers to pull down the posters. She felt it was a "tad too much." The guests kept Boney rushing around with the producer escorting each invitee, from Rahul Mahajan (first to arrive) and Yuvraj Singh (looking dapper in a dressy jacket) to Sushmita Sen (stunning, as always).

Sri, on the other hand, quietly placed herself on the couch inside where she greeted the guests and their larger-than-life bouquets. Rishi Kapoor walked in before the clock was about to strike midnight. Rakesh Roshan, Bhushan Kumar and Madhur Bhandarkar came in around the same hour. Riteish and Genelia made a suave entry, and so did Esha Deol with husband Bharat Takhtani and Hema Malini in tow.Surprisingly the two actresses only exchanged cursory greetings. Shipa Shetty dropped in with husband Raj Kundra and sister Shamita Shetty, all of them co-ordianted in monochrome outfits. We spotted Ramesh Taurani and his son Girish having a chat with director-duo Abbas-Mustan. One wonders if there is a collaboration in the offing? The party's tempo reached a feverous pitch when Anil Kapoor arrived with wife Sunita and the music shifted from a slow instrumental track to rollicking Bollywood numbers being spinned by DJ Aqeel. Others who arrived fashionably late included Juhi Chawla who arrived with husband Jay Mehta. Despite repeated requests, Sri refused to hit the dance floor and stuck to her couch. Awkward moments included an impromptu speech by Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid who decided to speak about Sri's efforts to popularise English.