By Sreedhar PillaiSreedhar Pillai, TNN  www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Here’s the latest on Malayalam cinema’s numero uno actor Mohanlal, who celebrated his 51st birthday last week on the sets of Roshan Andrews’ Casanova in Bangkok.

Mohanlal. Burj Khalifa
Mohanlal. Burj Khalifa

The buzz is that the actor has purchased an apartment in the world’s tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, in Dubai as a birthday present for himself. The 940 square-foot apartment, which is estimated to have cost nearly 2.8 million dirhams ( 3.5 crores), is said to be on the 29th floor and has a picturesque view of the dancing fountain .

A source close to the actor said, “From the beginning of his career, he (Mohanlal) has had a fascination for architecture , antiques and real estate. His houses in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai are exotically designed. Burj Khalifa is the latest addition to the list.”

Lalettan, as he is affectionately known, spends a lot of his spare time in Dubai and also owns a villa there. In fact, the actor secured a UAE driving license last year when he was shooting there for Casanova.

On the films front, the actor is on a high, with his 2011 summer releases Christian Brothers and China Town declared as superhits.

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty was gifted a similar apartment in Burj by her husband Raj Kundra on their first wedding anniversary in November last year.

Several prominent Indian businessmen in the UAE have also made the tall skyscraper their home.