Actor Salman Khan turns 42 today. To usher in his birthday, the actor packed off his family and close friends to his farmhouse in Panvel last evening. Salman, who personally invited all his friends, had reached the venue a day before, to ensure that all the arrangements were taken care of.

It is believed that Salman is not heavily into gifts. Apparently he has been following the no-gifts policy for a while now. Being the generous man that he is, Salman is known to shower his close friends with gifts on his birthday. Prominent guests at the actor's party were girlfriend Katrina Kaif, David Dhawan, Ranbir Kapoor, Ravi Chopra, Sajid Nadiadwala, Boney Kapoor, his son Arjun Kapoor, the crew members of Partner and music directors Sajid-Wajid. The actor, who made his debut with Rajshree's Maine Pyaar Kiya in 1989, opposite Bhagyashree, is now quite the king of the box office. The actor has had quite a chequered innings in Bollywood, what with his numerous affairs and breakups (Sangeeta Bijlani, Aishwariya Rai) and his penchant for bashing up his girlfriends. He has always been more in the news for his errant behaviour then his histrionics on screen. Literally the enfant terrible of Hindi cinema, the actor seems to be finally showing signs of sobering up. He has taken up his new hobby of painting very seriously and, according to art critics, is quite a decent painter. This year has been quite a decent year for Salman, with the success of his film Partner. Some of the other prominent milestone in his career have been Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, again from the Rajshree's, opposite Madhuri Dixit. The film went on to become one of the biggest grosser of all times. Another of his films, which is like a landmark is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. This was Bhansali's first box office hit and it established Salman and Ash as the hottest couple thereafter. Tere Naam came at a time when Salman was not having a particularly good time at the box office. The film, along with its music by Himesh Reshammiya, went on to become a super hit and resurrected Salman's status at the box office. This year has seen Salman appear opposite Priyanka Chopra in Salaam-E-Ishq and then do a Partner opposite Lara Dutta, Govinda and Katrina. He made a special appearance in Bhansali's Saawariya and appeared in the famous title song of Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om. The actor has a lot going for him and we can expect many more years of this Khan ruling the box office. Happy Birthday Salman Khan.