When Rajesh Khanna Bought Rajendra Kumar's Bungalow And May Be 'Luck'
Features
oi-Swikriti Srivastava
By P T I
When
Rajesh
Khanna
bought
his
iconic
sea-facing
bungalow
Ashirwad
in
1969
from
Rajendra
Kumar,
he
hoped
that
with
Kumar's
house,
the
then
superstar's
luck
would
also
rub
off
on
him,
revealed
a
new
book.
According
to
Jubilee
Kumar:
The
Life
and
Times
of
a
Superstar,
soon
after
Khanna
acquired
the
palatial
Carter
Road
bungalow
in
Mumbai,
he
rose
to
the
heights
of
stardom
and
glory
with
films
like
Aradhana,
Ittefaq
and
Do
Raaste,
which
released
the
same
year
and
were
massive
hits.
"Your
stardom
is
at
its
peak
whereas
I
am
just
starting
out
...
my
life
would
change
completely
if
I
acquired
your
residence.
It's
the
house
of
the
biggest
star
of
India,
after
all!" the
book
by
Seema
Sonik
Alimchand
quoted
Khanna
telling
Kumar.
These
words
clinched
the
deal
for
Khanna,
and
the
lucky
bungalow
Dimple,
named
after
Kumar's
daughter,
changed
hands
with
the
soon-to-be
India's
first
superstar.
The
house,
where
Kumar
spent
his
most
successful
years
as
a
star,
was
sold
to
Khanna
for
Rs
3.5
lakhs,
a
sum
not
even
close
to
its
market
value.
The
amount
was
to
be
paid
in
installments.
Khanna
re-named
the
property
Ashirwad
after
Kumar
denied
him
permission
to
retain
its
original
name
Dimple.
"You
must
change
the
name.
Dimple
is
my
daughter's
name.
We
had
named
the
Carter
Road
bungalow
after
her
and
we
have
now
named
our
new
home
'Dimple'
too.
But
you
have
my
blessings
for
your
new
home.
May
it
bring
you
immense
luck
and
prosperity," said
the
book
by
Hachette
India
quoting
Kumar.
However,
according
to
the
book,
where
Khanna's
career
was
reaching
phenomenal
heights,
Kumar's
fortunes
were
dwindling.
"The
year
1971
belonged,
without
doubt,
to
the
romantic
superstar
Rajesh
Khanna
who
topped
the
charts,
once
again,
with
a
diverse
range
of
movies.
These
were
Haathi
Mere
Saathi,
Maryada,
Kati
Patang,
Mehboob
ki
Mehndi
and
the
unforgettable
Anand," read
the
book.
"...
As
for
Rajendra
Kumar,
he
managed
to
make
it
through
the
year,
riding
on
the
shoulders
of
loyalists
like
Mohan
Kumar,
Ramanand
Sagar
and
his
own
brother
Naresh
Kumar
by
working
in
their
productions,
although
Mohan
Kumar's
'Aap
Aye
Bahaar
Ayee'
remained
the
actor's
solo
release
in
1971,"
it
added.
Kumar's
wife
was
furious
with
her
husband
for
letting
the
house
go,
a
property
they
bought
a
decade
back
after
spending
a
princely
sum
of
Rs
65,000.
"'We
didn't
need
the
money.
Why,
then,
did
you
give
it
to
him
and
that
too
for
a
measly
three
and
a
half
lakhs?'
she
had
scolded
him,"
the
book
read.