27 February,2016 08:20 AM IST | | A Correspondent
1.5 years after buying late Bollywood legend Rajesh Khanna's Carter Road bungalow, Aashirwad, the new owner has started to demolish it to build a new one in its place
One of Carter Road's most famous landmarks will soon disappear forever - Vardan Aashirwad, the iconic bungalow of film star Rajesh Khanna, is now being knocked down by the new owner, businessman Shashi Kiran Shetty, who plans to build a new house in its place.
Also read: Renovation work is on in full swing at the late Rajesh Khanna's bungalow Aashirwad
The familiar sight of the sea-facing bungalow on Carter Road will soon become a thing of the past, as the demolition work progresses there. A new house will be built in its place. Pic/Nimesh Dave
When mid-day visited the spot yesterday, the demolition work was well underway and is expected to finish soon. New owner Shetty told mid-day, "The structure was almost 50 years old. We plan to have a new bungalow over there. Currently, it is a very rough plan but we have submitted it to the BMC."
Also read: Rajesh Khanna's 'haunted' bungalow sold for Rs 95 crore
A senior official from the BMC's Building Proposal department informed this reporter, "They have taken the required permission for such an action. I have also been told they have the mandatory permission from state coastal authority. A building is going to be constructed in place of the bungalow, but I don't have its details."
Beloved bungalow
The iconic structure belonged to Rajesh Khanna - fondly called Kaka by the film fraternity and his fans - until his death. He used to live at Saraswati Bhawan in Thakurdwar till the release of his film Aashirwad, after which he bought this bungalow from actor Rajendra Kumar for Rs 3.5 lakh in 1970. The home was named Dimple at the time, and Rajesh wanted to retain the name. However, Kumar had built another bungalow on Pali Hill of the same name, and so refused to part with the name.
Upon Rajesh's death on July 18, 2012, his beloved house passed to his daughters Twinkle and Rinke. For a brief period, controversies raged around Khanna's live-in partner, Anita Advani, who claimed to own a share of the property. However, a public notice was issued in this regard to show that Twinkle and Rinke were the rightful owners. (Click here to read more)
On August 29, 2014, mid-day had reported about the bungalow being purchased by Shetty, founder and CMD of logistics firm, Allcargo Logistics Ltd (âRajesh Khanna's bungalow gets ready for new owners'). The report mentioned that Shetty had bought the 603-sq-metre house for Rs 90 crore. (Click here to read more)
