Godrej Properties buys iconic RK Studios' land in Mumbai for undisclosed sum, to be converted into real estate

The iconic R K Studios has been brought by Godrej Properties Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. The company on Friday announced the addition of a new project in Chembur, Mumbai. Spread across 2.2 acres, this project will offer approximately 33,000 square meters (approximately 0.35 million square feet) of saleable area comprising modern residential apartments of various configurations as well as a luxury retail experience. The site is strategically located on the main Sion-Panvel Road and offers an extremely well developed social and civic infrastructure with multiple schools, hospitals, retail malls, residential, and commercial spaces in close proximity, Godrej Properties said. Godrej Properties Executive Chairman Pirojsha Godrej said the company has added this iconic site in Chembur to its development portfolio. “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.” [caption id=“attachment_4465765” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of R K Studios. FP pic[/caption] Randhir Kapoor, R K Studios said, “This property in Chembur has been of tremendous significance to my family over the many decades that R K 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.” Godrej Properties generally ties up with land owners to develop real estate projects, but sometimes it also opts for outright purchase of strategic land parcel, it added. Explaining why the Kapoor family felt the need to put up R K Studios for sale, Rishi Kapoor, had said: The investment in rebuilding the studio would just not have yielded sufficient revenue to keep it going. Even before the fire, for years R K Studio had become a huge white elephant, toting up losses." He mentioned that the number of bookings had decreased substantially over the years with producers preferring studios near Goregaon and Andheri. Being part of the Eastern suburbs, Chembur was no longer seen as a lucrative shooting space, like it was back in the 40s and 50s. The Kapoors even considered renovating the whole space with cutting edge technology; however, the fire in 2017 made their plans to revive the studios even more unrealistic. The handful of clients using the studios had started demanding free parking space, air-conditioning and discounts, claimed Kapoor, which had further added to the losses. Godrej Properties generally ties up with land owners to develop real estate projects, but sometimes it also opts for outright purchase of strategic land parcel, it added. --With agency inputs