K Raheja Corp has bought BR House, the family house of one of the foremost filmmakers of Bollywood, B.R. Chopra. The 25,000-sq-ft bungalow spread over nearly an acre of land in Mumbai’s tony Juhu locality that is dotted with properties of actors, directors and producers of Hindi films.
The developer has acquired the property from Renu Ravi Chopra, wife of Ravi Chopra and daughter in law of B.R. Chopra, who is known for several blockbuster films including Waqt, Naya Daur, The Burning Train and Nikaah apart from one of the most successful serials in Indian television history, Mahabharat.
The developer has paid Rs 182.76 crore for the land and the property thereon. The company has paid stamp duty of nearly Rs 11 crore for the registration of the deal that took place in the last week of May, showed the documents accessed through Indextap.com.
K Raheja Corp is planning to develop a premium residential project on this plot through its residential development entity K Raheja Corp Homes. Property rates in the vicinity are currently in the range of Rs 60,000-65,000 per sq ft.
The company has acquired the property through its subsidiary Feat Properties.
ET’s email query to K Raheja Corp did not elicit any response, while phone calls and a text message to Renu Chopra also remained unanswered until the time of going to press.
The property on the Juhu-Tara Road opposite Sea Princess Hotel is where the family patriarch conducted most of his business and breathed last in 2008. Following a string of flops and some co-productions failed to take off, Chopra saw his production house slip into the losses in his last days.
According to media reports, Chopra’s son Ravi had managed to salvage the property earlier from a number of creditors after repaying them and clearing the bungalow of any encumbrances in 2013.
Transactions for land parcels have started to gather momentum again with many deals including outright acquisitions and joint ventures in key property markets of Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore either being closed or expected to close this year. The increased demand for land parcels is led by sustained recovery in the housing market.