Salman upset as he missed his dad's birthday

Unfortunately, Salman and Arbaaz are in Wai on the outskirts of Mumbai shooting for their home production Dabangg. And there was absolutely no way Salman could be allowed to return to Mumbai even for a few hours.

That left Salim Saab on his birthday with only son Sohail to keep him company.

Says Sohail, "I guess I got lucky. I got Dad all for myself on his birthday. Much as Salman and Arbaaz would've liked to be with Dad, there was no way they could leave the shooting in Wai and return on Tuesday for Dad's birthday without disrupting the schedule. We were just three days into the shoot and it couldn't be stopped."

While Salman seethed in Wai, Sohail drove back to Mumbai on Monday to bring in their father's birthday and to convey Salman and Arbaaz's best wishes to their father.

Says Sohail sentimentally, "The whole family makes it a point to be together by hook or crook for our parent's birthday. Anyway, Dad believes work comes first. But Salman and Arbaaz are very unhappy about the situation."

The family is getting ready for the release of Veer on January 26 (2010). "That's a big project for us," says Sohail. "We've worked really hard on it. After Dabangg, we want to start Partner 2. Everyone keeps telling us sequels ka zamana hai. Look how well the sequels to Golmaal have done! But until we're sure that the script will take us beyond the first Partner, we can't go ahead."

The entire Partner team is working on the sequel's storyline. "All of us, Salman, Govinda, David Dhawan and I, have been told to work on an idea. We'll go ahead with Partner 2 the minute one of us cracks the screenplay. Right now Partner is hot, and Salman Bhai is hotter," says Sohail proudly.