"I am giving you a surprise. Please put Amitabh Bachchan's name on the papers."
When Rajesh Yadav said this to Viram Gamara on November 23, while registering a document to transfer the title of a property, the latter could not believe his ears.
The superstar was buying Gamara's property, worth Rs 6.95 crores (Rs 69.5 million) in Shahpur village, Gandhinagar district, Gujarat, measuring 23,619 square metres.
Gamara, a resident of Ahmedabad, is a civil engineer and owns a small-sized construction business.
Yadav, a chartered accountant, reportedly holds the 'power of attorney' for the superstar, valid all over India.
Bachchan's investment in Gujarat has thrilled Gamara no end.
He told
Rediff.com, "Gujarat is getting so many tourists only because of
Bachchan's marketing of Kutch and Saurashtra. He has done so much for this state."
Bachchan got the land at a bargain price of Rs 3,000 per square metre. The land, on the banks of the Sabarmati river, is a farmland with a no-objection
certificate.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi -- a fan of Bachchan -- has launched an ambitious project to build a river-front, starting from Ahmedabad city.
Like the Thames river in London, the river front on the Sabarmati, which passes through Ahmedabad city, will have exotic spots of entertainment.
Construction is on in full swing despite protests and court cases by residents living on the banks of the river. Once this river-front project expands, Bachchan's plot will turn into hot property.
Says Gamara, "Many people asked me if you felt like charging more when I came to know that a great man like Bachchan is buying the plot. I said I honour my commitment. I can't cheat him. He is doing so much for Gujarat. How can we charge him more? Gujarat should take pride in the fact that he has opted to build his home here. Amitabh is now Gujarat's pride."
Gamara has been invited by the Bachchan family to Mumbai. He says he will buy a pretty frock for Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan's infant daughter.
Photograph: Andrew H Walker/Getty Images