Rajesh Khanna, remembered as India’s first true superstar of Hindi cinema. One has heard stories of his fame and how fans went crazy for him, especially women. But just as Khanna rose to stardom, his downfall also followed. He went through some tough times, financially, and that has been mentioned in his biography. With 17 consecutive hits, a massive fan base, and unmatched stardom, he ruled Bollywood through the late ’60s and ’70s. But his success didn’t last forever.During this time, there were rumours in the industry that Khanna wanted to sell off his bungalow. In Gautam Chintamani’s biography Dark Star: The Loneliness of Being Rajesh Khanna, the actor’s declining financial condition is detailed. One excerpt reads, “For a better part of the early years of the first decade of the new millennium, troubled clouds had taken over almost every small pocket of sunshine in Khanna’s life. His financial state went from bad to worse and there were murmurs that he was finally on the lookout to sell Aashirwad… The news that the income tax department had slapped a notice for arrears of over a crore and a half rupees on him finally made it all too true.”At that time, screenwriter Rumi Jaffery recalled receiving a call from Salman Khan. The superstar said his younger brother Sohail Khan was interested in buying Aashirwad. Not only did Sohail offer to pay any amount Rajesh Khanna quoted, but the Khans also promised to clear the pending income tax dues. To top it off, Salman even offered to act in a film for Khanna’s production house for free. Jaffery believed it was a generous and helpful offer and took the message to Khanna. But instead of gratitude, Jaffery was met with cold silence.“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 recalled in the book.Khanna refused to let go of Aashirwad, insisting it was more than just property—it was his legacy. “He even mused that he would die some day but Aashirwad would live on forever; and till such time, the world would never forget Rajesh Khanna,” the book says.He continued living in that house until his last days—alone, but proud. During his final days, Khanna lived in Ashirwad only and breathed his last there. He was living separately from his wife Dimple Kapadia and Anju Mahendru was staying with Khanna. “He would often be quoted saying, ‘A king is a king whether on throne or in exile,’ and in that context believed that Aashirwad wasn’t anything less than his legacy that would outlast his lifetime.”Even years later, when Sohail Khan ran into Khanna and introduced himself as Salim Khan’s youngest son, Khanna reportedly scolded him for trying to “buy him out” through Jaffery. The incident, as the book reveals, stayed with everyone involved—especially Rajesh Khanna.Earlier, in an interview, Khanna’s costar Sharmila Tagore had mentioned that his downfall happened because of him only. He did not handle his stardom well, she had said.
