GOPI HINDUJA, who heads the family empire in the absence of his elder brother, Srichand, who has been unwell for some years, is currently focused one project.
This is a spectacular opening of the Old War Office, which has been converted into a hotel – the Raffles London – and luxury private residences.
There are hopes that the formal inauguration of the project, which was delayed by the pandemic, will finally take place in May.
The identity of the chief guest is being worked out but the Hindujas would like to show their influence by ensuring it is someone very special.
Gopi’s elder son, Sanjay, has been taking a close interest in the project. It began in 2014 when the Hindujas and OHL Developments paid more than £350m for a 250-year lease on the Old War Office in Whitehall, a turreted former government ministry that opened in 1906, having cost a then-staggering £1.2m to build.
The hotel has 120 rooms and suites, designed by Thierry Despont. There are 85 Raffles branded residences, designed by 1508 London, “an interior and architecture design studio that creates exceptional spaces worldwide”. There are 11 restaurants and bars led by world-class chefs and restaurateurs including a rooftop bar with panoramic views. The venture also has a “dedicated wellness concept with spa and indoor pool”.
Sanjay, who gave an interview in one of the private apartments after being given an architectural prize by a luxury magazine, called it “a recognition not only for the family, but all the stakeholders involved. We have so many in house people, our development team, and consultants. It’s recognition for all of us.”
He remembered: “When we came to Whitehall, we just were blown away with the size and the beauty of this building. And we said, ‘Let’s do something, leave a legacy in London.’ That was the dream of my father and his brothers. And no expense has been spared bringing this building back to its glory.”
He added that “the whole project is so exciting, every facet of development. This building was an inward looking building. To convert an inward looking building into a building which welcomes everybody was a challenge.”
Touching on its history, he said that it once belonged to the ministry of defence during the First and Second World wars. “To bring it to a building where people will come in – and we offer them all types of facilities – has been challenging and I’m sure rewarding. For the family, this is a legacy project.”
Sanjay said: “We have put all our hard passion and time into this project. My father told not only me, but all of us, all his children (and) my cousins that nothing is impossible. Next to impossible, there’s only possible. The way we look at it resonates well with all family members.”
Sanjay went on: “As far as this type of project is concerned, it’s the only one in the market. The scale of what we are giving to our clients is unparalleled. I don’t see any other project of this scale at the moment in London. The supply side, as far as the high end is concerned, is limited. So we’re actually coming into the market at the right time. And we see a lot of demand coming from the US and the Far East. Which proves that despite Brexit London is London.”
He also talked of brand value: “Many people associate Raffles with Singapore (where there is a Raffles Hotel). They recall their fantastic experiences so they have invested in Singapore. Raffles resonates well with many international people. The way the world is changing people want branded residences. I think that’s the trend, not only London, but in other cities of the world.”
The Hindujas are also a respected brand, which symbolises the success of India and Indians. This was recognised by King Charles who sent his private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, to the Hinduja Diwali party last October. Their residence in Carlton House Terrace, only a quick stroll from Buckingham Palace, was lit up for the occasion. Should Charles III ever feel in need of an early morning cappuccino or a brandy last thing at night, the Old War Office is just down The Mall in Whitehall.
At the Diwali party, Gopi, who is now 83 and perfectly content his son and nephews have been trained to take over, was flanked by his brothers, Prakash, 77, and Ashok, 73, who has flown in from their homes in Geneva and Mumbai respectively.
The next generation is well prepared. Gopi and his wife Sunita have a younger son, Dheeraj, and a daughter, Rita.
Prakash, who is married to Kamal, has two sons, Ajay and Ramkrishan (“Remi”), and a daughter, Renuka.
And Ashok and his wife Harsha, have two daughters, Ambika and Satya, and a son, Shom.
Thanking Gopi, “dear friend, dear neighbour” for his hospitality, Sir Clive came with a message from the monarch: “All I wanted to do on behalf of His Majesty is to wish everyone in the room a very Happy Diwali. It is a community that the King has cared about for many, many years and spent a great deal of time and energy working in this country and around the world to bring communities together. And ‘GP’ (as Gopi Parmanand Hinduja is universally known) has done that so brilliantly this evening, bringing so many different communities into this wonderful house. So again, on behalf of the King, I would simply say a very Happy Diwali to all.”
Sir Clive was given a silver statue of Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of wealth and prosperity, as were all other dignitaries. They included politicians from all the three main political parties, represented by Nadhim Zahawi, then the Conservative party chairman, the Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, foreign office minister Lord Tariq Ahmad and the Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey. Out of the 48 countries in which the Hindujas do business, 22 were represented by their ambassadors or high commissioners, including Saida Muna Tasneem from Bangladesh.
Some of Gopi’s guests had come on from 10, Downing Street, where Rishi Sunak had hosted a Diwali reception on his first day as prime minister.
The family business has certainly evolved over the past century since it was founded by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja. He did not have a calculator but was very quick in doing mental arithmetic in the way children today cannot manage. He was born in Shikarpur in Sind (now in Pakistan) on November 25, 1901, and made the journey in 1914 to Bombay (now Mumbai) where he set up a business which would become a dynasty. Today, it takes in everything from banking and finance to health, energy, power generation, automotive, oil and gas, IT and BPO, media and cable, real estate, trading, defence and cybersecurity. There are suggestions that after the Old War Office, the Hindujas will look for other such projects, including possibly run down palaces in India.
The fact that the King was Christian, the prime minister was Hindu and the mayor of London was Muslim reminded Gopi of the most successful Bollywood blockbuster of 1977 – Amar, Akbar, Anthony. The Hindujas are less involved in Bollywood these days but once upon a time were active in distributing Hindi movies in Iran and many other countries.
Easy familiarity with big names from the Hindi film industry has increased the power and influence of the Hindujas. But since the stars relied on Hinduja finance to further their careers, it was the latter who were the senior partners in the relationship.
In the days when Srichand was in good health, he talked to Eastern Eye at length about the family’s pioneering work in Hindi cinema.
He revealed: “Our intimate association with the Hindi film industry goes back more than half a century. It began in the late 1950s when my elder brother Girdhar, then living in Iran, came up with the imaginative concept of promoting the whole idea of India through films and filmi music. Over the past half a century the Hinduja group is proud to have supported Indian cinema but there is a special corner in my heart for Raj Kapoor. We are now going back to a time when Mumbai was Bombay, truly a city of dreams and one of the most cosmopolitan in the world.
“Visitors who come to our London headquarters, situated high up in New Zealand House in the Haymarket, may not immediately spot the connection when they take the lift to the offices of Sangam Ltd. We chose the name Sangam after the 1964 Raj Kapoor hit film of that name.
“From the start, we were determined that Sangam would be a success. While it was the done thing to release Indian movies in the UK, East Africa, Canada, the Gulf including Dubai, traditional areas where there were Indian communities, Iran, Turkey and Thailand had not been tried out. In Russia, though, Raj Kapoor was becoming big. Russians knew about Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian prime minister, as they did about their own leaders, but about Raj Kapoor they were crazy.”
The Hindujas took Sangam to Teheran, capital of Iran, Srichand went on. And it was reduced in length. “After the editing, the film was either subtitled or dubbed – into Persian, for example – and we were involved in preparing all the posters and the publicity material for Sangam. We were the first I believe to dub in Farsi. In one cinema alone in Teheran, Sangam ran for a record 14 months.”
Srichand added: “My brothers and I had been involved in the export and import of all manner of merchandise but I had always been concerned about projecting India’s traditions and culture, its ancient civilisation, onto the world map. Then, as now, we saw films as a way of achieving this goal. In India, we often watched American movies and so had a good idea of what life was like in the West, but when we travelled we hardly ever came across Indian movies in cinemas around the world. We also noticed there was something very special about Raj Kapoor’s films. To enjoy his films, it was not necessary to know Hindi.
“There was a time when, as exhibitors, we controlled 300 cinemas in non-traditional markets but we always took care to ensure we did not make a loss. It was even said that if the Hindujas took a film, it wouldn’t fail financially.
“Years later, when Amitabh Bachchan was seriously injured in July, 1982, while performing a stunt on the sets on Coolie, some in the industry took solace in a little detail: ‘The Hindujas have financed this film so he cannot possibly die.’
“Our involvement with films has also meant a close association with Cannes, the world’s most important film festival. Hardly a year has passed when I or one of my brothers have not been in Cannes, where we have a villa, during the film festival.
“In 2002, when Sanjay Leela Bhansali brought Devdas for an official screening at the Grand Lumiere at Cannes, we entertained cast members including Aishwarya Rai at home.
“The following year we gave a party in honour of Aishwarya who was this time on the Cannes jury – most other jury members came, too, for the card said the dinner was for ‘Ms Aishwarya Rai, former Miss World, Bollywood’s heartthrob and a member of the Cannes Festival Jury’.
“In 2008, we hosted a lunch for Dev Anand when his Guide was screened in the section known as Cannes Classics. The festival was in its 61st year, Dev Anand in his 84th and 43 years had passed since the lead actor’s younger brother, Vijay Anand, had written and directed one of the most popular Hindi films of all time.”
In June last year, Gopi launched a book, Hindujas and Bollywood, by film critic Ajit Rai, at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall in London. Among the guests was the well known actor, Akshay Kumar, who urged the Hindujas, who had either financed or distributed 1,200 Hindi films in the past, to come back into the business.
Gopi was ready with a good reply.
“Akshayji, I can assure you, if you gave me some good suggestion, I will invest money in it,” he quipped, as the crowd clapped again.
Gopi had written some homespun dialogue for himself, asking the crowd: “Shall I start with ‘Lords, Excellencies..’ or ‘Dear Friends…”
To the cry of “Dear Friends,” he went on: “You will all be shocked and surprised that in all the movies we financed or distributed, we never lost a single penny. What was the reason? The reason was the hard work.”
The Hindujas, who are vegetarian and do not drink alcohol, have another quality. They have been remarkably skilful in fostering friendly relations with the Islamic world while remaining devout Hindu themselves.
At last year’s Diwali party, when there were guests from all religions and none, Gopi said: “Diwali is a festival of light, but there is a lot of depth in Diwali. Everyone prays to the Goddess Lakshmi for money, but I don’t believe in money. Wealth is nothing. Wealth is something you give away and get blessings from people – that is real wealth.”
And that comes from someone whose family was ranked No 1 in Eastern Eye’s Asian Rich list last year with net wealth valued at £30.5bn.
