Why Rajesh Khanna’s Bungalow Aashirwad Was Called Cursed And Haunted

Bungalows or homes of superstars are no less than a tourist destination. Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat, Salman Khan’s Galaxy and Amitabh Bachchan’s bungalows in Juhu are proof of this.

Did you know one such bungalow belonged to that of late superstar Rajesh Khanna? We are talking about his mansion Aashirwad. The bungalow was said to be haunted once. Not only this, it was said that it brought misfortune upon its owner and was called ‘cursed’. Today, let’s take a look at how three Bollywood celebs stayed at this bungalow. And eerily, all three met with misfortune.

The first owner of this bungalow in Carter Road was actor Bharat Bhushan. He achieved stardom in the 50s with films like Baiju Bawra, Mirza Ghalib, Gateway of India, and Barsaat Ki Raat. His films began to flop at the box office and he went into great debt. Bharat Bhushan had to sell it due to heavy losses.

After that, no one was willing to buy the house despite its good location and very cheap price. On the advice of a friend, actor Rajendra Kumar bought it for just Rs 60,000. Actor Manoj Kumar reportedly told Rajendra Kumar not to believe the ‘ghost bungalow’ rumours and advised him to perform pooja before going there. Rajendra Kumar has named the bungalow ‘Dimple’ after his daughter. After that he continued to succeed. Around 1968-69, Rajendra Kumar’s films began failing and he incurred losses. He too was forced to sell the bungalow.

When Rajesh Khanna came into the industry, he came to know that Rajendra Kumar wanted to sell his bungalow. Rajesh Khanna convinced him a lot and finally Rajendra Kumar sold him the bungalow for reportedly just Rs 3 and a half lakh in the 70s. He renamed the bungalow as Aashirwad.

Rajesh Khanna was the first superstar of the country. He gave 17 consecutive hits during the early 70s and became a legend. Rajesh Khanna’s films, by the late-70s, dramatically stopped working. He was even replaced by Amitabh Bachchan. Rajesh Khanna was in a mess, both financially and personally. He lived in the bungalow till his last breath.

In 2014, an industrialist bought the bungalow for Rs 90 crore.