Gadar 2 run may help Sunny Deol settle Bank of Baroda loan against Mumbai property: Bankers | Mumbai News – Times of India

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.