RK Studios bows out for residential, shopping complex
Mumbai: Godrej Properties has acquired the iconic RK Studios located in suburban Chembur where the film studio was established by and named after the Bollywood legend Raj Kapoor in 1948 for a reported Rs 50-60 crore.
The studio was not functional since a devastating fire in September 2017 that nearly gutted the decades old studio, forcing the Kapoor brothers to look for an ownership change as it was hemorrhaging their finances, as since January 1999, the family's production house RK Films has not canned a movie.
The Godrej group plans to develop a mixed-use property on the sprawling land offering luxury flats and retail space.
Though the company did not disclose the deal value, industry sources pegged it in the range of Rs 50-60 crore considering the location and the size of the land parcel.
"Spread across 2.2 acres, this project will offer around 33,000 sqmt or about 0.35 million sqft of saleable area comprising modern apartments and a luxury retail experience," Godrej Properties said in a statement Friday.
Company chairman Pirojsha Godrej said the iconic land parcel fits well with their strategy of deepening their presence in key locations across in major cities.
"We will seek to ensure we celebrate the remarkable legacy of this site with the goal of delivering an outstanding lifestyle for its residents," Godrej said.
RK Films, the film production company of the Kapoors based in the RK Studios, has a long list of box office hits and canned its maiden flick Aag in 1948. Though this movie failed at the box office, the banner found success with the next flick Barsaat in 1949.
Most of the RK Films productions share a common theme of criticising the society and depicting love across social divides and some of the successful labels from the RK banner include Awaara, Shri 420, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Mera Naam Joker, Bobby, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, and Ram Teri Ganga Maili among others. The last film under the RK banner was Aa Ab Laut Chalen in January 1999. When Raj Kapoor passed away in 1988, his elder son Randhir took over the studios. Later his younger brother Rajiv directed a film titled Prem Granth. Even Rishi tried his hands on direction with Aa Ab Laut Chalen.
Commenting on the deal, Randhir, the eldest son Raj Kapoor said, "the Chembur property has been of tremendous significance to my family over the many decades. We have chosen Godrej Properties to script a new chapter for this location and build on its rich history."
The site is strategically located on the Sion-Panvel highway and offers a well-developed social and civic infrastructure with multiple schools, hospitals, retail malls, residential and commercial spaces, the realty firm said. Godrej Properties generally ties up with land owners to develop new projects, but sometimes it also opts for outright purchase of strategic land parcel, it added. Last year, the Kapoor brothers had said the family wanted to sell the studio land. The decision was taken after a fire nearly gutted the property.
There were also reports that the decision was taken as Raj Kapoor's youngest son Rishi found it economically unviable to maintain the property, especially since the fire. He had said even before that fire tragedy, the property was hemorrhaging money.
There were media reports that the sale got delayed as the Kapoors were asking for the moon--a hefty Rs 200 crore, nearly double of the going price in the area then.
The studio did not just house the film company. The Kapoors used to welcome the Ganesha idol every year at the sprawling RK Studios and hosted last year.
