Lucknow, Oct 11 (IANS): Ram Ugrah Shukla, a lawyer in Lucknow, celebrated the 78th birthday of superstar Amitabh Bachchan by holding a 'havan' at 4.a.m on Sunday.

Shukla, while talking to IANS, said that he has prayed continuously for 15 days when Bachchan was recently diagnosed as being Covid positive and was hospitalized.

"On the day he was discharged from the hospital, I promised that I would celebrate his 78th birthday with a puja. I woke up at 4.am. today and performed a puja and a 'havan'. I prayed for his long life," he said.

Shukla said he was deeply impressed with the manner in which the actor tried to create awareness about Corona.

The lawyer had especially decorated a corner of his hall with balloons and festoons and had put up posters and a collage of Bachchan's photographs. He also cut a cake to mark the occasion.

Ram Ugrah Shukla, incidentally, is a lawyer who fights cases of mafia don Babloo Srivastava a.k.a. Om Prakash Srivastava, who has been lodged in jail since 1995 when he was arrested in Singapore.