Amitabh Bachchan called at 3 am, wired ₹15 crore next day to buy Ayodhya plot, reveals Abhinandan Lodha

A LATE-night phone call from Amitabh Bachchan culminated in a ₹15-crore land deal in Ayodhya, according to Abhinandan Lodha, who shared the anecdote while discussing the growing appeal of India's temple towns as real estate investment destinations.

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

“There were a couple of missed calls and later I got a message saying, ‘This is Amitabh Bachchan, please call back when convenient.’ I literally stood up and called him back. He told me 'Abhinandan ji, main UP 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 town of Ayodhya). I told him, we will do it for you," Lodha said.

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

“I replied, ‘How can I talk pricing with you?’ He said he wanted to buy 15,000 sq ft and I told him it may be around ₹15 crore, and the very next day he sent me ₹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 living communities around India's temple towns, creating a new avenue for the real estate sector.

Drawing a comparison between global and Indian pilgrimage destinations, he said Vatican City receives around 10 million visitors annually, while Ayodhya attracts nearly 250 million.

"When this kind of footfall comes into a destination, economic growth naturally takes place. The local economy begins to participate, and we begin to see a real estate boom. The moment land becomes attractive, fewer people want to sell it. This is not a temporary phenomenon; it is long-term value creation," Lodha said at the HT Real Estate Summit.

Amitabh Bachchan's Investments In Ayodhya

In March 2026, Amitabh Bachchan expanded his real estate holdings in Ayodhya by purchasing a 2.67-acre land parcel worth ₹35 crore from The House of Abhinandan Lodha. According to the company, it marked the actor's third investment in Ayodhya and his fourth plotted development purchase with the firm.

The land parcel is located near HoABL's 75-acre The Sarayu project.

Commenting on the purchase at the time, Lodha had said, "Bachchan's investment reflects a shared belief in land as an intergenerational asset that preserves value over the long term."

He had added, "At HoABL, we view land not merely as wealth but as a legacy. In Ayodhya, this legacy assumes a profound meaning, a 'virasat' where faith and inheritance come together. Supported by sustained infrastructure development and public investment, Ayodhya is emerging as a compelling destination for long-term land ownership and enduring value creation."

Before that, in May 2025, the actor purchased a 25,000 sq ft plot adjacent to The Sarayu for nearly ₹40 crore. In 2024, he had acquired a 10,000 sq ft plot in the company's flagship mixed-use development in Ayodhya for ₹14.5 crore.

Beyond Ayodhya, Bachchan also invested ₹10 crore in a 10,000 sq ft land parcel at HoABL's Sol de Alibaug project. The development has also attracted investments from actors Kriti Sanon and Kartik Aaryan.

According to HoABL, more than 65% of its customers are CEOs and CXOs from leading BFSI, pharmaceutical and multinational companies, as well as Bollywood personalities.

A report by Liases Foras, titled Ayodhya – A Rising Global Spiritual Capital, said the city's real estate market is witnessing significant growth, driven by rising land values and increasing interest from both spiritual tourists and long-term investors. The report stated that land prices in Ayodhya have recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19%, with projections suggesting it 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 riverfront and the Ram Mandir corridor appreciated by more than 4.5 times between 2020 and 2025.