Iconic Kamalistan Studio, home of Pakeezah and Amar Akbar Anthony, to be auctioned off

The six-decade-old Kamalistan Studio, founded by filmmaker Kamal Arohi in 1958, will be auctioned off.

The six-decade-old Kamal Amrohi Studio, also known as Kamalistan Studio, which has produced many a Hindi blockbuster, is going under the hammer as realty players DB Realty and Bengaluru-based RMZ Corp have agreed to jointly develop the 15-acre land into the country's largest corporate office park.

A still from Pakeezah.

Kamalistan is the second film studio to be converted into commercial property after the RK Studio in the eastern suburb last month.

DB Realty in a filing to the exchanges Monday said Mahal Pictures--the production house of Kamalistan--has entered into an in-principle understanding with RMZ Group to sell and develop a part of the land, along the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, into one of the largest corporate office parks.

Though the filing did not mention financial details or the development plans, media reports said RMZ will get a 55% stake while DB Realty and Avinash Bhosale Group, which has a stake in Mahal Pictures, will hold the rest. The project may cost a whopping ₹21,000 crore, offering over around 7 million sq ft of office space.

Founded by the late filmmaker and screenwriter Kamal Amrohi in 1958, the Bollywood landmark canned many hits such as Mahal (1949), Pakeezah (1972) and Razia Sultan (1983), Amar Akbar Anthony and Kaalia were also shot at the studio.

In October 2010, Amrohi's three sons sold a portion of the studio to three builders--DB Realty and the Luthrias, who once owned Bandra's erstwhile Sea Rock Hotel, and Avinash Bhosale group for around ₹200 crore.

It may be recalled that on May 3 this year, the city-based realty player Godrej Properties purchased the iconic RK Studios with plans to convert the 71-year old property into a residential and retail development.

Last week, DB Realty had announced that old disputes between it and existing shareholders of Mahal Pictures had been put to rest and the company's shareholding in the latter increased to 40% from 33.33%, while Avinash Bhosale will own the remaining 60% in the upcoming development.

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