Bollywood’s most celebrated action director Rohit Shetty has turned 48, and his collaborators have showered love at him on the occasion. From Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn to Karan Johar, Rohit Shetty’s film industry friends have posted sweet birthday messages on social media.

Akshay Kumar, who stars in the lead role in Rohit Shetty’s upcoming film Sooryavanshi, wrote on Instagram that they took no time to bond as they share love for the action genre. “It was easiest to bond with @itsrohitshetty because we shared one common passion which brought us together : Action! Happy birthday Rohit, wishing you an action-packed year ahead,” wrote Akshay, who’s often called “Khiladi Kumar”.

Sooryavanshi also stars Ajay Devgn, as he makes an appearance in the film in his Singham avatar. The actor, who has been best friends with Rohit Shetty for decades now, posted a picture of himself with the director and acknowledged that he always stood by him “rock solid”.

“Happy Birthday dear @itsrohitshetty . Always wish the best for you… You’ve been there for me, steady & rock solid.” Since the beginning of his career in 2003, Rohit has worked with Ajay on every film except 2018 cop action-comedy Simmba and the upcoming Cirkus, both of which star Ranveer Singh.

Filmmaker Karan Johar, who has co-produced both Simmba and the upcoming Sooryavanshi, also had a sweet wish for Rohit Shetty.

Sharing the release date announcement of Sooryavanshi on Twitter, Karan wrote, “Wishing the entire team all the best for our dhamakedaar film and loads of love to the birthday boy #RohitShetty. It’s always a blast to work with you, here’s to many more!!!” Simmba actor Sara Ali Khan also took to Instagram to wish Rohit Shetty. Posting a collage of two pictures with the director, Sara wrote, “Wishing you all the love, luck and laughter, sir. Missing you.”

Rohit Shetty received a sweet birthday wish from Simmba actor Sara Ali Khan. (Photo: Sara Ali Khan/Instagram)

Sooryavanshi, also starring Katrina Kaif and Ranveer Singh in a special role as Sangram “Simmba” Bhalerao, will arrive in theatres on April 30. The film was supposed to release March last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.