Star Shift: From Bandra to Worli, Bollywood Celebrities Eye Greener Pastures

In the tinsel town of Mumbai, your address decides who you are. If you are among the high-ranking business executives, lawyers or bankers, your address has to be the upscale Peddar Road. If you own a large business and come with old money, it is highly likely you live in beautiful and exclusive Malabar Hills. And, if you are an A-list Bollywood celebrity, Bandra is where your home must be.

Good, Old Bandra

From Rajesh Khanna, Bollywood's first superstar, to Shah Rukh Khan, the current Bollywood Baadshah, Bandra has been the preferred destination for celebrities due to its central location, ample number of sea-view apartments and its Goa-like lanes and charm. The locality is close to the Film City in Goregaon, home to top film studios.

Actors who have homes in Bandra include Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline Fernandez and Nargis Fakhri. Recently, actor Aamir bought his fifth house in Bandra's Pali Hill for around Rs 10.2 crore.

In focus

However, as time passed, many celebrities chose to go closer to film city and buy into exclusive homes in Andheri, with a number of TV stars choosing to live in Goregaon and Kandivali. Actors such as Parneeti Chopra, Anushka Sharma, John Abraham have apartments in Andheri.

In the past few years, Bollywood stars are shifting towards exclusive business district Worli, also the costliest area in Mumbai. When actor Deepika Padukone bought an apartment in Worli five years ago, with a home loan, it also gave a sneak-peak into the rising financial discipline among celebrities.

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In 2013, cricketer Yuvraj Singh purchased a home in a high-rise in Worli which reportedly cost around Rs 60 crore. In 2014, actor Abhishek Bachchan booked an apartment for Rs 41 crore in a luxury project in Worli by Skylark Towers. His father and superstar Amitabh Bachchan's iconic bungalow, Jalsa, is in Juhu. Recently, Bollywood celebrity Akshay Kumar also purchased a home in Skylark Towers in Worli for Rs 28 crore.

Why Worli?

A number of purchases by movie actors in Worli have brought cheer to an otherwise dull sales in India's luxury homes market. Three key factors are pushing Bollowood celebrities towards Worli:

Life choices

Real estate experts and developers say that a growing number of new high-rises in Worli are attracting Bollywood celebrities to that area. Leading names in the real sector have upcoming projects here that allowing home-buyers to customise their living space according to their taste. Luxury apartments in Worli offer a breathtaking view of the sea, apart from the in-house aesthetic atmosphere.

Cash flow

Film making in India is estimated to be a multi-billion dollar industry and Bollywood, formally referred to as the Hindi cinema, is the largest contributor to its revenues. In recent times, a single hit Bollywood movie shows a collection of Rs 100 crore and more.With this, the spending capability of Bollywood actors has also gone up. This is evident with the fact that the spending on celebrity homes is seen in the range of as high as Rs 40 crore.

Actors' earnings these days are in the range of top business barons, senior bankers, lawyers and industrialists. Riding on advertisement and event-based earnings, Bollywood actors are making money on par with their peers in Mumbai's financial world.

The link

Thanks to the Bandra-Worli sea link, Worli is now closer to Bandra. The cable-stayed bridge, which opened in 2009, has brought Worli closer to Bandra, making them a traffic snarl-less drive away. This is another reason why stars are shifting their base. While enjoying all the space that Worli offers, actors would find it easy to reach their office on time.

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