Amitabh Bachchan called at 3 am, sent ₹15 crore the next day to buy Ayodhya land, reveals Abhinandan Lodha

A late night phone call from Amitabh Bachchan culminated in a ₹15 million land deal in Ayodhya, according to Abhinandan Lodha, who shared an anecdote while discussing the growing appeal of India’s temple cities as real estate investment destinations.

Speaking at the Hindustan Times India Next Real Estate Summit 2026, Lodha recalled receiving a call from a veteran when he was in Australia in 2023.

“There were a few missed calls and later I got a message saying, ‘This is Amitabh Bachchan, please call back when it’s convenient.’ I literally got up and called him back. He told me ‘Abhinandan ji, UP chief se hoon aur mujhe Ayodhya ji mein land leni hai (I am a native of Uttar Pradesh and I want to buy land in the holy city of Ayodhya). I told him we will do it for you,'” Lodha said.

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He said Bachchan’s first question was about the price of the land.

“I said, ‘How can I talk to you about prices?’ He said he wanted to buy 15,000 square feet and I told him it could be around ₹15 million and he sent it to me the very next day ₹15 crore,” Lodha added.

Temple Towns could be the next real estate frontier

During the summit, Lodha said the rapid growth of cultural and religious tourism could pave the way for senior communities around India’s temple towns and create a new avenue for the real estate sector.

Comparing the world and Indian pilgrimage destinations, he said the Vatican receives around 10 million visitors a year, while Ayodhya attracts nearly 250 million.

“When this kind of impact comes to a destination, naturally there is economic growth. The local economy starts participating and we start seeing a real estate boom. The moment land becomes attractive, fewer people want to sell it. It’s not a temporary phenomenon, it’s long-term value creation,” Lodha said at the HT Real Estate Summit.

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Amitabh Bachchan’s Investments in Ayodhya

In March 2026, Amitabh Bachchan expanded his real estate holdings in Ayodhya by purchasing a 2.67-acre plot worth ₹35 crore from the house of Abhinandan Lodha>. According to the company, this marked the actor’s third investment in Ayodhya and his fourth planned development purchase with the firm.

The land is adjacent to HoABL’s 75-acre The Sarayu project.

Lodha said of the purchase at the time: “The Bachchan investment reflects a shared belief in land as an intergenerational asset that retains value over the long term.”

He added: “At HoABL, we see land not only as wealth, but as heritage. In Ayodhya, this heritage takes on a deep meaning, a ‘virasat’ where faith and heritage come together. With the support of sustained infrastructure development and public investment, Ayodhya is emerging as a compelling destination for long-term land ownership and sustainable value creation.”

Earlier, in May 2025, the actor bought a 25,000 square feet plot adjacent to The Sarayu for nearly ₹40 million crowns. In 2024, it acquired a 10,000 sq ft plot in the company’s flagship mixed-use development in Ayodhya for ₹14.5 million.

Apart from Ayodhya, Bachchan also invested ₹10 million on a 10,000 sq ft plot in HoABL’s Sol de Alibaug project. The development has also attracted investment from actors Kriti Sanon and Kartik Aaryan.

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According to HoABL, more than 65% of its customers are CEOs and CXOs of leading BFSIs, pharma and MNCs, as well as Bollywood personalities.

A report by Liases Foras, titled Ayodhya – A Rising Global Spiritual Capital, states that the city’s real estate market is experiencing significant growth, driven by rising land values and growing interest from both spiritual tourists and long-term investors. The report said land prices in Ayodhya have seen a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19%, with projections suggesting that they could reach 25% by 2035.

The report added that large-scale infrastructure projects – including the expansion of the international airport, improved road and rail connectivity and the construction of the Ram Mandir – have accelerated the city’s transformation over the past five years. It also noted that land values around the Sarayu waterfront and Ram Mandir corridor have appreciated more than 4.5 times between 2020 and 2025.