Veteran actor Rajesh Khanna, fondly known as India’s first superstar, passed away in 2012 after he was diagnosed with cancer. He was fans’ beloved actor with a series of superhit films. However, the actor also struggled financially and fell into massive debt.
The veteran actor’s debt had led him to plan to sell his most prized possessions, his Carter Road bungalow, Aashirwad, which is mentioned in Rajesh Khanna’s biography, Dark Star The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna, penned by Gautam Chintamani and published by Rupa Publications.
However, an excerpt in the biography has recently revealed that Salman Khan was among the first to call Rajesh Khanna for the house. Screenwriter Rumi Jaffery recalled in the book that Salman told the veteran actor that his brother, Sohail Khan, wanted to buy Aashirwad.
Sohail assured Rajesh Khanna that he could ask any price he wanted. Salman and Sohail would cover it and also settle his income tax dues. In addition, Salman offered to act in a film for Rajesh Khanna’s production house without a fee. To help finalise the deal, the brothers brought in Rumi, who saw it as a great arrangement for everyone involved.
Excited, Rumi informed Rajesh Khanna about the offer, but the late actor greeted him with “stoic silence” as mentioned in the book.
The excerpt reads, “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,’ Jaffery says.”
The biography further noted that Rajesh Khanna might have mused that he would die someday, but Aashirwad would live on forever as his legacy.
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