Mumbai’s landmark property RK Studios, which had been up for sale ever since a massive fire gutted the premises in September 2017, has finally changed hands. Its new owner is: realty major Godrej Properties Ltd (GPL), which is now planning to develop a swanky residential complex-cum-shopping plaza on the premises.
Confirming that it had inked a deal with Kapoors, GPL said in a statement here on Friday that 2.2 acre RK studio property, located at Chembur in north-east Mumbai, would offer to the new owner an approximately 3,50,000 sq ft ( 33,000 square meters) of saleable area comprising modern residential apartments of various configurations as well as a luxury retail experience.
Located on the main Sion-Panvel Road, the property offers an extremely well developed social and civic infrastructure with multiple schools, hospitals, retail malls, residential, and commercial spaces in close proximity.
Not surprisingly, GPL has not disclosed the amount at which it purchased RK Studios, which had been named after legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor.
According to informed sources in the real estate market, the estimated valued of the prized property is anywhere from Rs 500 crore to 600 crore. The ongoing rates of Developed residential-cum-commercial rates in Chembur is any where Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per sq feet,
“We are happy to add this iconic site in Chembur to our development portfolio. This fits well with our strategy of deepening our presence in key locations across India’s leading 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 Properties’ Executive Chairman Pirojsha Godrej said.
Filmmaker and late Raj Kapoor’s son Randhir Kapoor of RK Studios said, “This property in Chembur has been of tremendous significance to my family over the many decades that RK Studios has operated from there. We are excited to have chosen Godrej Properties to script a new chapter for this location and build upon its rich history”.
Significantly enough, Kapoors have sold the property more than six months after the late Raj Kapoor’s widow, Krishna, passed away at the age of 87, on October 1, 2018 last year.
The Kapoor family had been looking out to sell the famous property ever since a huge fire broke out on the premises on September 16, 2017. After the fire reduced the studio and also precious memorabilia and costumes from the RK Films & Studios banner films to ashes, Kapoors had expressed their inability to revamp and restart the studio.
So much so that after the fire mishap, senior actor Rishi Kapoor had gone on record that it had become economically unviable for his family to renovate and maintain the place. “Even before the fire, for years RK Studio had become a huge white elephant, toting up losses,” Rishi Kapoor was quoted as saying.
Constructed in 1948, RK Studios contributed a great deal to the Indian cinema. After the first film Aag made at this studio bombed at the box office in 1948, the Studios — which made films under the RK Films — tasted first success with Barsaat (1949). The banner went on to make successful films like Awaara, Boot Polish, Jagte Raho and Shree 420.
Many RK Films movies featured Kapoor opposite actress Nargis. Raj Kapoor appeared in 15 RK films with Nargis and travelled around the world with her to promote the studio’s films. The music director duo-Shankar Jaikishan also worked frequently on RK Films productions during this period.
In the following decades RK Films produced many films, including Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Mera Naam Joker (1970), Bobby (1973), Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), Prem Rog (1982) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985), which was Raj Kapoor’s last film.
In the seventies Randhir Kapoor joined his father at the studio, and made his acting and directorial debut with Kal Aaj Aur Kal in 1971, which also starred his future wife Babita, father Raj Kapoor and grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor. He went on to direct two more films with the company Dharam Karam (1975) and an incomplete film left by Raj Kapoor, which he completed after his father’s death in 1988 and Henna (1991).
Late Raj Kapoor’s brother Shashi Kapoor also featured in several RK films. When Raj Kapoor died in 1988, Randhir took over the studio. His younger brother Rajiv Kapoor directed Prem Granth in 1996 and Rishi Kapoor directed Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999). After 1999, the Kapoors did not produce films under the RK Films banner.
