Salman's dream house on at last
Biding his time, Salman has bought all flats in a bldg on Carter Road over the last few years; will now build a bungalow there
Kunal M Shah
| The three-storey Starlet building is now being razed to make way for the bungalow |
One of Bandra's landmarks is soon going to move. Salman Khan, whose house at Galaxy Apartments at Bandra Bandstand, is among the few star houses outside which there's a crowd of watchers always, will soon begin constructing his dream bungalow on Carter Road.
According to sources, Salman has, over the last few years, bought off all flats in Starlet, a three-storey building on Carter Road where property prices are currently in the range of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per square foot. The building is now being razed to make way for the bungalow that will reportedly include a state-of-the-art gym, a swimming pool, sports facilities and plenty of greenery. Sources close to Salman said he had always wanted to build a bungalow on Carter Road and decided to buy off flats in Starlet as he thought the sea-facing plot would be ideal for his dream home.
Starlet has been home to several Bollywood personalities like producer-director Sultan Ahmed, Nagma's father Chander Sadanaah, writer Akhtar Rumani, Rajesh Khanna's secretary Gurnaam, art director Manzoor Haque and producer Abdul Khan, whose son Kalim Khan now looks after Sanjay Dutt's business.
According to Kalim Khan, whose brother and mother were among the last occupants to leave Starlet three months ago, the first flat that Salman's father Salim Khan bought in the building was that of Chander Sadanah a few years ago. "Gradually, he bought the other flats too, and the last resident to leave, two months back, was a certain Bhooshan Kohli."
Kalim Khan said his family initially had five flats in the building but had to sell three of them to pay off debts after his father's film Jaan (starring Biswajeet and Mala Sinha) flopped. Kalim himself left the building in 1990.
"We had bought each flat for Rs 75,000 in 1969. We didn't want to shift because there was sentimental value attached to the place. Now the building is being razed. For Salman Khan the place will soon be a dream house, but for me, it is a dream shattered," Kalim said.
However, sources close to Salman said he and his father have been "fair to the flat-owners and given them the prices they had asked for."
Though both Salman and Salim Khan were unavailable for comment, Salman's brother Arbaaz said: "My dad owns some flats in Starlet and as and when the building gets demolished we'll get new flats in it." However, sources confirmed that instead of a building, Salman will build a bungalow there.
Anupamaa
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