The grandeur of Bollywood celebrities is best expressed with their lavish houses around the city. Here we take a look at some celebrities and their houses.

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan relaxing at Prateeksha

Amitabh owns three houses Jalsa, Prateeksha and Janak which are all located in the posh Juhu Scheme area of Mumbai, and are at walking distance from each other. The Bachchans initially used to stay in Jalsa, but after Abhishek Bachchan gained stardom they moved into the bigger Prateeksha. Janak is used as an office. Every Sunday, whenever Senior Bachchan is in town, he makes it a point to greet his fans outside his house, Jalsa. Fans, who know about his practice, start gathering outside the famous abode by 5 PM, so that they get to see this legendary star from as close as possible.

Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh has a palatial sea facing house named ‘Mannat’ in Bandra, Mumbai. The house has six floors each catering to a different need. It has a private cinema, a library, a gym and a few rooms for photo shoots. Shah Rukh lives with his wife Gauri, two children and sister Lala Rukh Khan.

Deepika Padukone

Daughter of legendary badminton player Prakash Padukone, Deepika stays in a four bedroom spread with three parking lots in the BeauMonde Towers near the Siddivinayak temple in Prabhadevi, Mumbai. It is on the 26th floor and is worth INR 16 crores. This apartment has been rumoured to have been gifted by her ex boyfriend Sidharth Mallya. But if it was indeed nothing but a rumour, then Deepika, who was 25 at that time, must be the youngest achiever in B-town to buy such an expensive house!

Salman Khan

This Khan can easily afford a lavish bungalow in the heart of Mumbai; but he chooses to stay in an apartment with his family! His building, Galaxy Apartments, is a landmark and also a tourist attraction in the area, just like his contemporary, SRK’s Mannat.  This superstar lives with his parents Salim and Salma Khan, Helen, Arbaaz Khan, Malaika Arora and their son, Sohail Khan and his wife and son, and his sister Arpita.

John Abraham

John Abraham’s sea facing apartment is a duplex is located in Mumbai near the Arabian Sea and has a clear view of it. This house comes in the category of simple yet stunning. Each room of his apartment is finely planned and designed along with the apt furniture and accessories.

When birds are in the wild, these beautiful creatures are never alone. You may have noticed this on a wildlife channel or probably in real life as well. Even for a moment if they are away from their flock mates, they call wildly to get back to each other’s company. So what are we doing when we actually cage these gorgeous winged creatures? We’re crushing their spirits at the expense of our delight. Harsh, isn’t it? They may beautify our homes and it may be a great hobby to rear them, but what good is it doing them?

(Also read – Is living-in before marriage a cool idea?)

Caging a bird may crush their spirit

Caging birds is something that seems so normal to us but can be a nightmare to birds. The greatest thing about being a bird is the ability to fly – to soar above the skies, a freedom that other creatures can only envy. So, to confine a bird to a cage where it can barely fly at all is severely cruel.

(Also read – Easy ways to get rid of warts)

Jaya Sawant is a pet lover who has two dogs. She is of the opinion that dogs may be great pets, but caging a bird is just not right. “Having a pet dog is fine, in fact better than it living on the road. But caging a bird is just so wrong, on so many levels! How would a human like it? Whenever we think of cruelty to animals, the first thing we need to consider is, will you live that life for even a day? How would that feel?”

(Also read – The real action heroes of Bollywood)

It clearly shows on the behaviour of the bird as well. You don’t see a chirpy bird in a cage, do you? You may see a well trained bird that probably loves his ‘master’, but there you go! We talk about slavery being a thing of the past, but we enslave these majestic creatures and call ourselves masters! Double standards, eh?

(Also read – Delicious recipes with Masala Oats)

 Donating your bird to a sanctuary is a great option

So, if you have a caged bird at home, what is the next option for you? Probably a bird sanctuary is a good choice as this will give your bird more space and more birds to live with. The next time you go to by a bird, remember that it hurts their life to stay in a cage. If you are generous enough to buy a bird and set it free, that will credit your humanity to no limit! However, consider that a caged bird may not be able to live a free life soon after and donating it to a sanctuary may always be the best option.