Big B hands over ₹50-crore Pratiksha bungalow to daughter Shweta as a gift

Pratiksha was the first bungalow in Juhu purchased by the couple shortly after the success of blockbuster Sholay released in 1975. The two actors along with his father and poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and mother Teji Bachchan lived in Pratiksha initially before moving to their present home Jalsa, one km away

Actor Amitabh Bachchan and his wife, Jaya Bachchan, have bequeathed Pratiksha bungalow, the first of the five family homes in Juhu, to their 49-year-old daughter Shweta Nanda as a gift.

Mumbai, India - March 20, 2016 : Amitabh Bachchan along with her daughter, Shweta Nanda Bachchan attended HT Most Stylist Award in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, March 20, 2016. (Photo by Pratham Gokhale / Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The property on 10th Road in Juhu Vile Parle Development scheme was transferred through two separate gift deeds for two plots registered on November 8. The first plot, owned by Amitabh Bachchan and his Rajya Sabha MP wife, measures 9,585 square feet and is valued at ₹31.39 crore while the second plot in the name of Amitabh is spread over 7,254 square feet and is valued at ₹19.24 crore, according to Zapkey.com that has accessed the registration documents.

The Bachchans paid a stamp duty of ₹50.65 lakh, the documents indicated.

Pratiksha was the first bungalow in Juhu purchased by the couple shortly after the success of blockbuster Sholay released in 1975. The two actors along with his father and poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan and mother Teji Bachchan lived in Pratiksha initially before moving to their present home Jalsa, one km away.

In July 2020 when a monsoon storm uprooted a Gulmohar tree in the garden of Pratiksha, Bachchan wrote in an emotional post in his popular blog that the tree was 43 years old, and it was a sapling when they purchased the bungalow. He recounted that the bungalow was named Pratiksha by his poet father from a line in his own work when they invited his parents to live with them on the property.

He wrote, “Babuji saw the house as we invited him and maa ji to now live with us and named it, Prateeksha... it came from a line of one of his works: “Swagat sabke liye yaha par, nahi kisi ke liye prateeksha” (welcome there is for all in this abode, but we are not waiting for anyone.”

The 81-year-old actor recalled how his son Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai were married in this bungalow and under the same Gulmohar tree. The traditional Holi, and other rituals in the family were also celebrated by the family under this tree.

Industry sources said the Bachchans moved to Jalsa after the demise of the superstar’s parents. The actor has reportedly preserved the rooms of his father and mother as they were in the bungalow. In 2017, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had served a notice on the bungalow stating that a portion of it could be required for widening Sant Dnyaneshwar Marg that connects Chandan cinema to Link Road towards Iskcon temple. However, no action was taken.

Apart from Pratiksha, the Bachchan family owns two-storied Jalsa spread across 10,125 square feet which was gifted to the actor by director Raj N Sippy as remuneration for his 1982-film Satte Pe Satta. In yet another blog post, Bachchan recounted that Jalsa was originally producer NC Sippy’s house and had featured in a number of films like Chupke Chupke, Anand, Namak Haram and Satte Pe Satta.

The other properties actor’s family owns in Juhu include Janak bungalow which is used more as an office, two other bungalows Vatsa and Ammu, part of which was leased to Citibank, and re-leased to State Bank of India in 2021.

In 2021, Bachchan also sold the Sopaan bungalow in Gulmohar Park in New Delhi for ₹23 crore to Avni Bader, CEO of Nezone group of companies. The 2.100 square feet house was registered in Teji Bachchan’s name and his parents lived in this house before they moved to Pratiksha.

The charismatic host of Kaun Banega Crorepati is a keen real estate investor and has been making property investments in the western suburbs. In 2021, he purchased a 5,704 square feet duplex on the 27th and 28th floor of Atlantis building on Lokhandwala Road in Andheri West and later rented it to actor Kriti Sanon for a rent of ₹10 lakh per month.

His latest purchase was in September 2023 of four office units on the 21st floor of the 28-storey Signature office tower on Veera Desai Road in Andheri for ₹28.73 crore. The collective carpet area of the four units spans 7,620 square feet. Several other actors, including Sara Ali Khan, Karthik Aryan, Manoj Bajpayee, Ajay Devgn and Kajol, have purchased office space in this tower.