Sunny Deol's Juhu villa to be auctioned in September to recover Rs 56 crores loan?

THE TIMES OF INDIA (August 21, 2023)

Mumbai: Bank of Baroda (BoB) has put up a Juhu plot for e-auction over a Rs 56 crore loan default by actor Sunny Deol. Sunny Sounds Private Ltd, a company floated by Deol, which owns the dubbing and recording studio, has been named as a corporate guarantor. The property also houses a preview theatre and post-production facilities.

According to banking sources, the Deols had taken a film-financing loan in 2015-16, during the production of Ghayal Once Again, which was a sequel to Sunny’s hit ’90s movie. The movie was produced under the banner of Vijayta Films Pvt Ltd of which Sunny and his brother Bobby are directors. The movie is understood to have a budget of Rs 50 crore, but the collections fell short.

BoB is understood to have classified its loan as a nonperforming asset towards the end of 2022. It is, however, not clear whether the loan referred to by BoB in its notice is the same loan, said banking sources.

It is not unusual for banks to issue notices under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002, which allows them to possess and sell properties of defaulters. A senior public sector banker said that SARFAESI notices are issued only after the loan is classified as a non-performing asset; in other words, the borrower has not paid for 90 days after the due date.

The notice to Sunny, who is also a BJP member of Parliament representing Gurdaspur constituency, has drawn attention because the actor recently starred in a sequel to his two-decade-old movie Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. Given that Gadar 2 has done well at the box office, bankers said it is likely that the Deols would come forward for a settlement.

While it has been over two decades since film-making was classified as an industry under the IDBI Act, lenders are still wary over lending to film projects because of the completion risks. Most of the financing is undertaken without completion risks, but they are still exposed to market risks since often the returns are linked to box-office collections.
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Tanmayi Savadi (MID-DAY; August 20, 2023)

While Sunny Deol enjoys the success of Gadar 2, trouble continues to loom over his head. On Sunday, the Bank Of Baroda put out a notice in a newspaper hinting that the actor-politician's bungalow in Juhu, Sunny Villa, will be auctioned for non-payment of dues on September 25. Reportedly, the bank has to recover around Rs 56 crores from him along with the interest on the loan.

The notice put out by the Bank Of Baroda mentioned Sunny's real name, Ajay Singh Deol, and stated that the bungalow, where a recording studio has been set up is named Sunny Villa. Other loan details have been mentioned. Sunny's brother Bobby Deol, whose real name is Vijay Singh Deol, father Dharmendra Singh Deol, and Sunny Deol's company Sunny Sounds Pvt Ltd are named as Guarantors and Corporate Guarantors for the loan that he had borrowed from Bank of Baroda.

Sunny runs his business from the bungalow. The property houses Sunny Super Sound, which is the actor's office, a preview theatre, and two other post-production suites. Reportedly, the office was established in the late '80s. The theatre and the post-production studios are equipped with modern technology for quality cinema. Several special previews of films were hosted at Sunny Super Sound over the past few months.

Reportedly, the Bank Of Baroda has kept a reserve price of Rs 51.43 crores for the auction and Earnest Money Deposit for the auction is around Rs 5.14 crores, whereas the auction bid increase is Rs 10 lacs. 

According to Bollywood Hungama, a source informed, "The notice states that the buyer, after paying the amount, will get ‘symbolic possession’. After the amount is deposited, Bank Of Baroda will approach the District Magistrate. Once the DM approves, the buyer will get physical possession of the property. However, this process can be slow and can take months or even years. Until then, Sunny Deol can operate his business from Sunny Villa."

According to a Bombay Times report in February 2016, Sunny had mortgaged the studio to raise money for his directorial venture, Ghayal Once Again (2016). He decided to take a loan against the property to repay the dues to his financers.