Lara was special guest at Dino's family birthday celebration

Dino Morea has always maintained that Lara Dutta is very special to him and that fact was proved on Tuesday (Dec 9) when she came to his Bandra bungalow to spend his birthday with the rest of his family.

The actor, who is in his early thirties, says, "This year, we decided that we would bring in a quiet birthday. Because of the 26/11 attacks, the mood of the country is sombre and personally, I haven't been in the mood for celebrations. So we decided to have a quiet family get-together at my home."

This birthday was even more special for the actor as, "Mum and dad came from Bangalore to spend time with me on my birthday.

They were to come on Dec 21 but they wanted to surprise me on my birthday. It was my best birthday gift, as I haven't seen them for eight months now."

Besides his brothers, Santino and Nicolo, Dino admits close friend Lara Dutta was also with him. "But Nico's girlfriend was also there," he smiles.

He's reluctant to talk about the gifts he got from his near and dear ones, "I got some stuff like an iPod and a computer but it's too personal to talk about.

The presence of loved ones around me was enough." Though he is reluctant to reveal what Lara got him, a close friend of the couple spills the beans, "Lara and Dino both love gadgets and when they were in the USA, they bought a lot of them. Lara bought a Mac Airbook for Dino, a slip video and upgraded her iPod."

But it was not all play and no work for Morea. He adds, "I cut a big chocolate cake, had a nice birthday lunch and then I attended three important meetings.

It was a good sign that I worked on my birthday because all of the meetings were good for me. I always go to Mount Mary; I went three days ago but didn't have time on my birthday. I find a lot of peace there," concludes the birthday boy.