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Move over Lokhandwala, the new housing complexes on the Malad Link Road (in north Mumbai) are fast becoming the residential hotspot for the television industry. Suraj Wanvari, himself a resident of the new haven, spoke to some of TV's happening stars who feel Malad surpasses Lokhandwala as a residential destination. And he could not agree more with them.

From a marsh laden, dense foliage stretch, Malad's patch of the Andheri-Kandivli link road in the northern suburbs of Mumbai has come a long way in the past two years. With new housing complexes and townships sprouting at an expeditious rate; malls, multiplexes and swanky restaurants coming up, many industry wallahs have moved base to this area just a bit north of Lokhandwala, the previous fashionable address for TV folk.

What started as a trickle has now become a flood. The area has been home to some of television's known names like Ali Asgar and Saakshi Tanwar (Parvati bhabi), Jaya Bhattacharya (Kyuunki's Payal), Shweta Tiwari (Prerna of Kasauti), Delnaz and Rajiv Paul and brother Rakesh for a while now.

Now the industry's younger generation is making it their address too.Malad has become home to the likes of Jasvir Kaur, Karishma Tanna, Amar Upadhyay, Sumit Sachdeva and Sachin Sharma to name just a few.

Karishma Tanna, Rajiv and Rakesh Paul's residence'Bhoomi Classic'

"Lokhandwala is a mess!" reasons Sumit who plays Gautam in Kyunki… "I couldn't make myself at home in a cramped up mosquito infested environment like Lokhandwala," he adds.

Karishma (Palak of Zee's Paalkhi) supports this outlook and says she did not want to live in the over crowded locality

. "A lot of our friends in Lokhandwala these days are complaining about the lack of privacy and it's over congested ness," points out Rajiv Paul.

Ask anyone about what they like most about Malad. "Of course, In Orbit, the huge mall right next to my house at Acme Akansha," pat comes the reply from Jasvir (aka Smriti of K.Street, Pali Hill). "On any given Sunday or when I'm off work, the ideal place for me to chill is In Orbit," she quips. Jasvir lives with her boyfriend Aziz.

"It's relaxed, calm and cool here. "Not too many people, traffic and lots of solitude," raves on Sumit who just moved into his new rented apartment, after having lived in two other flats at Malad itself.

"Malad has a lot of nice places to hang out, and here you get a lot more space for the same money. When you drive down this stretch, you can appreciate the development and at the same time, the calmness the place holds." says Rajiv.

Why do actors prefer Malad today?

Karishma justifies, "My work is my priority right now and staying at Malad really makes it easy for me to travel, as all the studios I have my shoots at, are in the vicinity."

"When I moved here, I didn't have much of a choice anyway. Lokhandwala was too expensive and it takes almost an hour in the traffic to get to work," Sachin Sharma (Krishna in Kahani…), who moved into his rented pad at Malad just 10 days ago, has a noteworthy point.

Rajiv on the other hand who has his own flat right opposite the bustling mall, In Orbit has a sweet story of his own. "When I used to travel from Dadar to work I used to pass this area every day.I've seen it come up and somehow I had decided, this is where I wanted to live," he explains.

"Indeed. When I came to this place there wasn't even a single decent beauty parlour I could go to. Today, there are so many, I can't decide which one to go to! The malls and shopping arcades here are amazing," adds wife Delnaz Paul.

Malad has a lot many offerings, the In Orbit mall being everyone's favourite. When it comes to eateries: "Pop Tate's is my favorite!" comes the unanimous reply from all of them.

Amongst others, "I like eating at this Chinese restaurant called Peeking Tom and go there very often," says Karishma. "Uncle's Kitchen is not bad too," says Sachin.

Abhay Vakil (of Palkhi) has his own share of problems. The lad who lives at Marine Lines has to undertake an excruciating two hours of travelling daily. .

"A move to Malad is on the cards in the future. Although I don't know whether I'd like to live away from my parents," he says.

"Whenever I have the time I'm catching movies at Fame Malad," says Jasvir. A statement echoed by both Sumit and Sachin.

"The majority of the actors here prefer to live on rent, prices ranging from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 13,000 for a one bedroom-hall-kitchen flat, depending on your choice of furnishing," informs Sachin. The tab is a tad lower than what they would have to cough up at Andheri's crowded and traffic jammed Lokhandwala Complex.

"With an upcoming Joggers Park facing the creek, high quality sports clubs,two multiplexes and an international standards mall already set in place, affordable prices, loads of restaurants and cafes, all compiled together with the solitude and lots of space, isn't a place at Malad, a steal?" counters Rakesh Paul.

It's clear that all of Malad Link Road's starry denizens are giving a clear thumbs up to the new address. Telly Chakkar too raises a toast to it!