Akshay Kumar’s ‘Bhoot Bangla’ : ….of the same name, strange sounds used to come
There are many horror genre films in Bollywood which people like to watch. These days Akshay Kumar is in the headlines for the film Bhoot Bangla. But do you know that once his father-in-law Rajesh Khanna spent his life in a bungalow of the same name and after coming to this bungalow, his life also changed completely.
Film stars are identified by their work. But there have been some whose stardom has also been identified with their luxurious bungalows. Today Amitabh Bachchan‘s bungalow is known as ‘Jalsa’, while Shah Rukh Khan‘s is known as ‘Mannat’. But the story of this unique relationship between stardom and bungalows had started years ago in the film industry.
There have been days for Bollywood stars when a whole era has passed when luxurious bungalows have been their identity. These bungalows have been witness to sky-high success as well as heart-breaking failure. One such bungalow was of a superstar, whose name changed the fortunes of the star living in that bungalow. This bungalow was a ‘ghost bungalow’.
‘Bhoot Bangle’ might remind you of the name of Akshay Kumar‘s new film. But you might be surprised to know that his father-in-law Rajesh Khanna used to live in a bungalow with the same name. But the story of this bungalow started even before Rajesh Khanna, with Rajendra Kumar. Many big film stars and businessmen live in Mumbai’s Bandra seafront. Here is the Highrise building, in the middle of which there are some bungalows in dilapidated condition.
Rajendra Kumar, who became famous after playing a small role in ‘Mother India’, was growing in stature in Bollywood and his personal life as well. He used to live in a rented flat in Santa Cruz. When his daughter was born, he left that house and shifted to this haunted bungalow, which he named ‘Dimple’ after his daughter. It is said that as soon as he shifted to this house, his stars started touching new heights.
The period during which he lived in this bungalow was the most golden and successful period of his life. Many of his films including ‘Gharana Sangam’ became hits after hits. He became famous as Jubilee Kumar because most of his films celebrated jubilee. A few years later in 1969, Rajendra Kumar sold this bungalow to Rajesh Khanna. It was a coincidence that when he left the bungalow, his films also stopped being successful.
