Much like Bandra’s Mehboob Studios, Famous become a city landmark. Spread across 1,10,000 sq ft, it grew as the go-to destination for film and advertising shoots, music recordings, events and concerts. It now also houses a co-working space. This writer has spent many an evening at Famous. Once, 12 years ago, we watched a raw MMA fight there, and then in 2019, caught international pop star Lauv in concert here. 

Anant Roongta

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It would seem that Famous has always been ahead of the curve. “In the ’50s and ’60s, we introduced new technology. We had the American Mitchell Cameras. Then we got into set design, collaborated with Bollywood cinematographer Fali Mistry and even entered production,” says Anant of the studio which has been the location for legendary movies such as Sita aur Gita, and Mr India. Add to that, in the 1980s, when Arun Roongta took over, it also received the first licence for video services from the I&B Ministry. It then became the first studio in India to introduce video and audio production. “World-leading acoustics expert Andy Munroe, who has worked as an engineer at Shure where he designed systems for venues, and where he worked with Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, also designed the recording studio,” says Anant.  

MF Husain sketches on the wall outside the animation studio in 2001, as Arun and Chandralekha Roongta watch 

Anant, who was a student at Campion High School, and later Cathedral and John Connon School, before heading to the UK to earn a degree in international business, says that he grew up in a home that knew everyone in the movie business, but weren’t star struck. “I used to walk in on my dad sitting around with celebrities, and he was never affected or fazed. He was also great friends with Mehboob Khan, the founder of Mehboob Studios.” He did, however, take some time to find his own passion for the family business. And since 2018, he has resurrected the place by adding a co-working space, and making it wholly tech enabled. “Owing to its location [stone’s throw from Mahalaxmi station], we had many a developer reach out. It has a certain nostalgic value, and an even bigger brand value,” Anant feels. It could be this that led to State Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray inaugurating the revamped bus stop dedicated to Famous Studio under the tactical urbanism initiative. 

Sound engineer Farhad Dadyburjor at the inauguration of Galactica A studio in 1992

Ask him what’s the defining moment for Famous, and Anant  names shooting for the song, Koi kahe from Dil Chahta Hai in 2001. “Creating that club ambience was something we did well. We have also restored the Sholay print. And thanks to the technology we have, which now includes a Dolby Atmos studio, we have been the centre of many big advertisements.” 

Amitabh Bachchan gives an award to Arun Roongta  in the 1970s

But for the Roongtas, the goal is to bring together the best of old-world feel and new-age technology. If Anant has to list one factor that differentiates Famous from the studios that dot Mumbai, he says it is flexibility. “The whole aim was to retain the charm of the place, and keep it as modern as possible, offering all levels of comfort.”

Mehboob Khan of Mehboob Studios visits the construction site in the 1940s