The Aashirwad bungalow on Carter Road in Mumbai was home to three superstars at various points in time. The one thing common between them was that they all lost their stardom after moving there
Mumbai’s Carter Road is one of the poshest localities in the metropolis, usually inhabited by the biggest of film stars. But it wasn’t always a hotbed for Bollywood stars. All that started in the 50s with one star and one bungalow, which sadly turned out to be unlucky for him. And this started a series of unfortunate events wherein whichever star lived in that bungalow saw their career decline.
1. The famous Aashirwad bungalow
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The Aashirwad bungalow, as it eventually came to be known, was one of the first houses built on Carter Road. The two-storey sea-facing property was built by Parsees and eventually saw Bollywood stars living there
2. Aashirwad’s most famous resident
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Even as multiple Bollywood stars lived in that place over the years, the bungalow is most remembered as the residence of Bollywood’s original superstar Rajesh Khanna, who called it home for four decades
3. When Bharat Bhushan lived in Aashirwad
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The bungalow’s firs celeb resident was 50s’ superstar Bharat Bhushan, who had great success with hits like Baiju Bawra, Mirza Ghalib, Gateway of India. But by the 60s, his films began flopping and he went into debt due to which he had to sell the bungalow for virtually pennies
4. How Aashirwad ‘ruined’ Rajendra Kumar
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In the early 60s, up-and-coming star Rajendra Kumar bought the bungalow and named it Dimple after his daughter. He even did a puja to ward off the curse, stories about which were now common. But by 1969, Rajendra Kumar’s films began flopping and he almost went bankrupt, being forced to part with his favourite house
5. Aashirwad and Rajesh Khanna
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Rajesh Khanna bought the house in the early 70s and rechristened it Aashirwad. The actor was at his peak when he moved there but within three years, he had begun to see only flops. By 1980, his stardom was all but gone. His marriage ended too and his wife Dimple Kapadia left him. Rajesh Khanna lived alone in Aashiward till his death in 2011
6. When Aashirwad was demolished
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In 2014, the bungalow was sold to an industrialist for a sum of Rs 90 crore. In February 2016, the new owner demolished the iconic bungalow to build a new property in its place. With this, the house that had been home to three Bollywood stars, ended its journey
