Rajesh Khanna's iconic Mumbai bungalow 'Aashirwad' demolished
The Bollywood veteran Rajesh Khanna’s Carter Road bungalow, popularly known as Aashirwad, was demolished by its new owner.
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The Bollywood veteran Rajesh Khanna’s Carter Road bungalow, popularly known as Aashirwad, was demolished by its new owner, Shashi Shetty, executive chairman of Mumbai-headquartered Allcargo Logistics, on Friday. Sachin Gokhale/Firstpost
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The 6,500-square-foot sea-facing bungalow, a tourist attraction for the actor’s fans, drew a lot of controversy over its ownership, underrated sale price it fetched, its name and also for the presence of a ghost which, if the rumours are to be believed, brought success to Khanna and also the previous owner of the bungalow. Sachin Gokhale/Firstpost
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Its present owner, Shashi Shetty, had planned to demolish the bungalow to make way for a multi-storey building in June last year; a plan which was put into effect on Friday. The bungalow, located in a prime location, was reportedly sold for Rs 95 crore, a price which the pundits noted was much less than what it ideally should have been. Sachin Gokhale/Firstpost
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As the property is not entirely reduced to ruins, one can still see Khanna’s popular movie name – Haathi Mere Saathi – spray-painted on its walls. Before Aashirwad belonged to Rajesh Khanna, it was owned by another big Bollywood star, Rajendra Kumar, who had bought the bungalow for Rs 60,000 back in the day. Sachin Gokhale/Firstpost
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There was an ugly spat between Rajesh Khanna’s alleged companion in his last days, Anita Advani, and his family over ownership of the bungalow. Following Khanna’s death, there were conflicting claims as to what the actor wanted the bungalow’s fate to be. Advani constantly maintained that the actor had never wanted to sell off the property and wanted it to be converted into a memorial instead. Sachin Gokhale/Firstpost
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Khanna’s family and Advani were also caught in a row over the name of the bungalow, which reportedly was quietly renamed by his daughters after his death in 2012 as Vardaan Aashirwad. However, the location of the demolished bungalow, where once thousands flocked together just for a glimpse of Bollywood’s first superstar, will now be remembered as the place Rajesh Khanna once lived. Sachin Gokhale/Firstpost
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