Television actor Mahesh Shetty chose not to celebrate his birthday on Friday, saying he preferred staying indoors and spending time with family.

"I have had no reasons to celebrate this past year. It was a pretty dark year for me personally, and my birthday is no different," Mahesh said.

Since the number of Covid cases have been constantly rising, Mahesh said his special day was without celebrations this year.

He said: "It's a normal day this year, I'll be staying indoors and spending time with family and that is more than enough for me to make my birthday special. The situation is really pathetic and it breaks my heart to see people suffer. I pray for the country to heal and may we all strive back to our old, good life very soon."

Mahesh will be seen in the film "Bhuj: The Pride Of India" starring Ajay Devgn. The film also has Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Nora Fatehi and Sharad Kelkar among others.