Sonam Kapoor and her husband Anand Ahuja have acquired Mumbai’s historic music retail store, Rhythm House, for ₹47.84 crore (478.4 million rupees). The store, which was a landmark for music lovers since its establishment in the 1940s, was previously owned by fugitive businessman Nirav Modi. Rhythm House had been shuttered since 2018 after Modi defaulted on billions of dollars in bank loans.
The sale was confirmed by Shantanu T Ray, the official liquidator appointed by the Indian bankruptcy court overseeing the sale of assets belonging to Modi’s Firestar International. Ray confirmed that the stakeholder committee approved the sale of Rhythm House, a 3,600-square-foot property, during a conversation with Bloomberg News.
A spokesperson for the Bhaane Group, owned by Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja, confirmed the completion of due diligence and expressed plans to expand the company’s retail presence in the city. The company, however, refrained from commenting on specific financial details. “We have completed our due diligence and plan to expand our retail presence in the city. As private companies, we are unable to comment on any financial information regarding the bid,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Bhaane, a fashion label under Shahi Exports Pvt., owned by Anand Ahuja’s father Harish Ahuja, is one of India’s largest apparel manufacturers. The company supplies international brands such as Uniqlo, Decathlon, and H&M, and operates Nike and Converse stores across India through its retail division.
The acquisition of Rhythm House signals the end of an era for a generation of music enthusiasts who frequented the store to buy vinyl records, cassettes, and CDs. Throughout its history, the iconic store attracted Bollywood celebrities and international artists, including Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson and classical musician Pandit Ravi Shankar. However, the rise of music piracy in the late 1990s, followed by the dominance of digital streaming platforms, led to the decline in relevance of traditional music retail stores, resulting in the eventual closure of Rhythm House.
The sale marks a new chapter for the iconic property, as Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja aim to reinvigorate its legacy.
Sources By Agencies
