'Mera ghar bikwana…'; Rajesh Khanna once refused to sell his 'Aashirwad' bungalow to this actor, even during..., he is…
In Rajesh Khanna's biography, 'Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna', written by Gautam Chintamani, reveals how Bollywood's first superstar bought the magnificent Aashirwad bungalow. But even during his financial crisis, he refused to sell it. Initially, the property was owned by Rajendra Kumar. He then became a jubilee star of the film industry by living in it. His relative was Ramesh Bahl, and he was making a film named 'The Train' with Rajesh Khanna. Interesting story behind Rajesh Khanna's property
One day, Rajesh Khanna was going from Carter Road. When he saw the crowd in front of the bungalow, he asked why there was such a crowd. On this, his driver said that this is Rajendra Kumar's bungalow. That's it, from that day onwards, that bungalow settled in Kakaji's mind. Rajesh Khanna asked Ramesh Bahl to get this bungalow for him somehow. On this, Ramesh Bahl told Rajendra Kumar that there is a lot of noise of vehicles here. People keep coming and going. There is no such thing as privacy; pollution is also very high. There is another bungalow behind this. It is quite big and very peaceful too. In this way, Ramesh Bahl convinced Rajendra Kumar, and then Rajendra Kumar sold that bungalow. Rajesh Khanna took this bungalow from him. Rajesh Khanna named this bungalow Aashirwad. When Rajesh Khanna faced a financial crisis
After the sale of this bungalow, Rajendra Kumar's stardom started fading and Rajesh Khanna's started increasing. Seeing this, Rajendra Kumar also felt that along with the bungalow, his luck also went to Rajesh Khanna. Well, it was in 1999, 2000, and 2001 that Mr Khanna faced financial trouble. He got a notice of one crore, one and a quarter crore rupees from Income Tax. When Salman Khan was interested in buying Rajesh Khanna's property
Meanwhile, one day Rajesh Khanna got a call from Salman Khan. He asked Rumi Jaffery that he had an important work with Rajesh Khanna. Salman Khan requested Rumi to help him purchase Rajesh Khanna's property. It was Sohail Khan who was interested in buying Rajesh Khanna's property. Sohail heard that Rajesh Khanna was selling his bungalow, and he was interested in buying it. Whatever price Rajesh Khanna quoted, Sohail Khan was ready to purchase it. Sohail assured that there will be no negotiation from his side. When Rajesh Khanna came to know about Sohail Khan's plan on buying Aashirwad
Rumi further revealed, 'When Khanna finally spoke, he asked him how he could even think of suggesting such a thing and accused him of stabbing him in his back. 'Kakaji said, 'I consider you a son-in-law aur tu mera ghar bikwana chahta hai… Sadak par lana chahta hai!' I had a tough time explaining that I was merely a postman delivering Sohail Khan's message.'
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2 hours ago
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Rajesh Khanna Allowed His Stardom To Slip, People Began To Mock Him, Says Sharmila Tagore
Last Updated: Rajesh Khanna, India's first superstar, rose quickly but couldn't sustain fame. Sharmila Tagore revealed he failed to adapt to changing audiences. Late actor Rajesh Khanna was regarded as one of India's first superstars. His charming personality, good looks and film choices in the early days of his career catapulted him to fame almost overnight. Khanna also enjoyed a robust fan following, especially from females. His hairstyle became a trend, and 'Kaka' became almost synonymous with sensation. Unfortunately, Rajesh Khanna's downfall was as swift as his success. Sharmila Tagore, his co-star in many films, revealed why the late superstar couldn't grasp his own success. Sharmila Tagore wrote the foreword to Rajesh Khanna's biography, Dark Star The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna, penned by Gautam Chintamani and published by Rupa Publications. In the prologue, she reflected on why her co-star couldn't hold on to his fame. She wrote in the book, 'Like his friendships, Kaka didn't nurture his stardom and allowed it to slip from his grasp. He failed to notice that the audience was changing, and that the roles he had been doing were becoming less and less relevant. Kaka either couldn't or didn't reinvent himself to remain contemporary; so much so that he became almost a caricature of himself, and people began to mock him." Tagore also observed that Khanna was too generous with some of friends. He would splurge them with expensive gifts, even giving them flats. 'But, in return, he expected far too much which ended up putting a strain on the relationship," the Aradhana actor further penned. The veteran actor, in all honesty, wrote about what she didn't like about everyone's beloved Kaka. 'But what affected me personally was his habit of coming late to work. I went to the studios at 8.00 a.m. and wanted to be back with my family by 8.00 p.m. But this was impossible, since Kaka never arrived before 12.00 noon for a 9.00 a.m. shift. And we could never finish on time. As a result, the entire unit would pressurize me to work overtime and complete the schedule. This became the norm, and since I had many films with Kaka, I found myself in a quandary," she wrote. The Safar actor further penned, 'So, I opted to work with other actors more and more despite the fact that our pairing had been so successful. Probably even Kaka felt it was not such a good idea to have so many films with one actress—one runs the risk of becoming stale. Whatever it was, we found ourselves working together in less and less films. And I must confess, it was a huge relief." Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore were one of Hindi cinema's most iconic on-screen pairs, delivering a string of memorable films in the late 1960s and 1970s. Their chemistry lit up classics like Aradhana (1969), Amar Prem (1972), Daag (1973), and Avishkaar (1974). First Published: July 14, 2025, 15:51 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India Today
2 days ago
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Does 'Raj' in Yash Raj Films stand for Rajesh Khanna? The partnership that wasn't
Gautam Chintamani's 'Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna', a story told through the actor's cinematic marvels and misses, includes an intriguing anecdote - one that may change how you look at Yash Raj Films (YRF).One of India's biggest film production houses, YRF was founded by Yash Chopra, known for directing classics, and revolutionising Bollywood's idea of romance. And it all began with 'Daag: A Poem of Love' (1973).advertisementStarring Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore and Rakhee in the lead roles, 'Daag' was Chopra's directorial debut under his own production banner. That Khanna and Chopra didn't collaborate again for over a decade despite the roaring success of the film is a well-known fact. What remains lesser known is the depth of their creative bond before the legendary fallout. As mentioned in 'Dark Star', Chopra had already established himself as a promising director but had worked only under his brother Baldev Raj Chopra's banner, BR Films. Yash Chopra wanted a fresh start, and in Rajesh Khanna, he saw that beginning. According to a section of the industry insiders, their rapport during the making of 'Daag' was so strong that they reportedly decided to co-produce the film. An excerpt from the book reads:The film also went on to create an urban legend that remains one of the Hindi film industry's most romanticized myths. According to a cross-section of people from within the industry, especially Khanna's close confidants, Rajesh Khanna and Yash Chopra had an unofficial agreement that 'Daag' would be a co-production between the two. Even though Yash Chopra, like his brother Baldev Raj Chopra, was officially Yash Raj Chopra, the presence of 'Raj' in Yash Raj Films banner is believed by many to stand for 'Rajesh' (sic). Even with Chopra's proven talent, the project may not have taken shape without Khanna's book further states: "If stories are to be believed, the circumstances in which Yash Chopra started his production house were far from rosy. It had been a decade since he started directing, and all his films had been for BR Chopra's production house, and it was Khanna, along with producer Gulshan Rai, who helped Yash in more ways than one when he decided to go independent (sic)."Khanna's presence in the film helped Yash put the project together with less difficulty than it otherwise might have entailed, because when 'Daag' was beginning to be filmed, Khanna was at the peak of his popularity. The falling out between Khanna and Yash Chopra following 'Daag' that resulted in the actor not featuring in any of the director's ventures over the next decade and a half, and Khanna teaming up with BR Chopra, add to the mystery surrounding the whole issue. But the perceived veracity of his tale depends largely on which side one chooses to view the whole affair from, as the bigger the myth, the more sides a story tends to have in the world of Hindi cinema (sic). What led to the rift between them remains a mystery. Chopra, in later interviews, hinted that he didn't want to deal with Khanna's infamous "tantrums," Khanna, on the other hand, claimed Chopra would make him work unnecessarily long hours."Regardless, the success of 'Daag' should have ideally inspired a creative partnership between Rajesh Jhanna and Yash Chopra, who had seen a successful collaboration with 'Ittefaq' too. But that wasn't meant to be (sic)," Chintamani it was not just Chopra's journey that Khanna played a role in. According to the book, Khanna is believed to have discovered the iconic writing duo Salim-Javed. But like Chopra, they too eventually drifted away.'Dark Star' notes:And while Chopra went on to helm 'Deewar' which, in a way, sealed Khanna's fate, Khanna not only had to be content with seeing Yash collaborate with the very man who would take away his crown, but was also at the receiving end of the wrath of Salim-Javed, the writing duo he practically discovered (sic). Rajesh Khanna, the first superstar of the Hindi cinema, died on July 18, 2012 in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. He is survived by his wife, Dimple Kapadia, and daughters, Twinkle and Rinke Khanna.- EndsMust Watch
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3 days ago
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How furious Rajesh Khanna reacted as Sohail Khan wanted to buy his home Aashirwad, Salman Khan offered to work in his film for free: ‘Mujhe sadak pe lana chahta hai'
Rajesh Khanna was among the first superstars of Hindi cinema, but while the highs of Khanna's career were monumental, his lows were equally steep. Gautam Chintamani's biography Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna mentions one such incident from the twilight of his career when the actor faced financial constraints. At that time, it was Salman Khan's younger brother Sohail Khan who expressed interest in buying Khanna's iconic bungalow, Aashirwad. As rumours and speculation about Rajesh Khanna's financial ruin began to circulate, talk also began about the possibility of the actor selling Aashirwad. 'For a better part of the early years of the first decade of the new millennium, troubled clouds had taken over almost every small pocket of sunshine in Khanna's life. His financial state went from bad to worse and there were murmurs that he was finally on the lookout to sell Aashirwad,' an excerpt from the book reads. The book also recounts how a notice from the income tax department — demanding unpaid dues of 'over a crore and a half rupees' — further damaged Khanna's public image and added credibility to the rumours. During this time, screenwriter Rumi Jaffery received a call from Salman Khan, expressing Sohail Khan's desire to purchase Aashirwad. To convince Rajesh Khanna to let go of the bungalow, the Khan family extended several lucrative offers. Along with offering to pay any amount for the property, Salman and his family also agreed to settle Khanna's outstanding income tax dues. On top of that, Salman even offered to act in a Rajesh Khanna production free of cost. Rumi Jaffery, acting as the messenger, took all these offers and approached Rajesh Khanna. However, the veteran actor's reaction was far from welcoming. The book recounts Khanna's response to Rumi's proposal. The screenwriter recalled in the book, 'When Khanna finally spoke, he asked him how he could even think of suggesting such a thing and accused him of stabbing him in his back. 'Kakaji said, 'I consider you a son-in-law aur tu mera ghar bikwana chahta hai… Sadak par lana chahta hai!' I had a tough time explaining that I was merely a postman delivering Sohail Khan's message.'' For Rajesh Khanna, Aashirwad was more than just a bungalow—it was a symbol of his superstardom and legacy. He believed it held emotional value not just for him, but also for his fans. The book mentions, 'He would often be quoted saying, 'A king is a king whether on throne or in exile.'' He considered Aashirwad his legacy. 'He even mused that he would die some day but Aashirwad would live on forever; and till such time, the world would never forget Rajesh Khanna,' the book notes. Years later, when Rajesh met Sohail Khan, he scolded him for trying to 'buy him out' through Jaffery. Rajesh Khanna continued living in Aashirwad alone, as he and his wife Dimple Kapadia were living separately. He breathed his last in 2011 in the beloved bungalow. Later, an industrialist bought the property and demolished it to make way for a high-rise building.
