Prayer Meet For Devendra Ahuja: Stars Pay Tribute to Bobby Deol's Pa-in-Law

A prayer meeting was organised for Bobby Deol's Pa-in-Law Devendra Ahuja (promoter of Centurion Bank and MD of 20th Century Finance), who died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday (21st Aug 2010) morning. He was 74. Bollywood stars Twinkle Khanna, Sonali Bendre, Karan Johar, Chunky Pandy, Sanjay Kapoor, Gauri Khan met to pay tribute to Tanya Deol's dad Devender Ahuja. Below are some images from the get-together.

Bobby Deol

Dharmendra

Tanya Deol with Gauri Khan



Gauri Khan and Maheep Kapoor

Gauri Khan at Devendra Ahuja

Gauri Khan

Sonali Bendre

Twinkle Khanna

Twinkle Khanna and Rinke Khanna

Karan Johar and Sussanne Roshan.

Karan Johar

Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor

Sanjay Kapoor

Chunky Pandey

Kajal Anand

Nandita Mahtani

Sharmila Khanna

Tarun Mansukhani

Bobby Deol Performs Billionaire Father In Law Devendra Ahuja's Last Rites; Son Vikram Ahuja Kept Out at Funeral

Death didn't alter the bitterness. The sudden demise of Devendra Ahuja, top banker of Centurion Bank, has heightened the rift in the Ahuja family, as son in law Bobby Deol performed the last rites at Chandanwadi crematorium, even as scion Vikram Ahuja was allegedly kept out of the cremation and wasn't allowed to perform the last rites. Allegedly, this was completely in accordance with Devendra Ahuja's will.

Devendra Ahuja (or Dev Ahuja) and Son Vikram

Reportedly, the 14 year old battle between father and son escalated after Vikram accused his 74 year old father who'd moved out of the family house to stay with his mistress, 20 years his junior, of being biased towards Bobby Deol and his spouse Tania.

Deol flew in from Toronto where he was filming for Anees Bazmee's 'Thank You' for the cremation of Ahuja's body.

And although close sources state that Tania did hug her brother Vikram even as they broke down, he was reportedly not allowed to perform the last rites.

At stake is a Rs.300 crore property with a number of claimants in line: Ahuja's 35 year old son Vikram; daughter Tania and husband Deol; daughter Munisha; his estranged wife Marlene and his mistress.

States a close source, "Vikram was not told of his father's cardiac arrest and death, until about 45 minutes after it took place."

Adds the insider, "When he rushed to the hospital, all the formalities had been completed and the body had been taken to the morgue, where it was kept until Bobby Deol returned from his shoot in Toronto."

The family feud goes back 15 years when Dev Ahuja, 74, got involved with an air-hostess 20 years his junior. The alliance did not go down well with the family.

For the first five years, it led to bitter fights between the husband and wife and eventually led to Ahuja moving out of the family's plush 5,000 square feet Maker Tower apartment at Cuffe Parade to a 20th-floor apartment at NCPA building, Nariman Point.This was 1996, the year Tania married Bobby Deol.

In the following years, there was a flurry of complaints, cross complaints and court cases. But the main sore point has been Devendra Ahuja’s alleged attempt to deny Vikram any share in the family wealth and favour Tania. Ahuja, in fact, disowned his only son through a public notice in newspapers in June this year 2010.

The notice also said that the Maker Towers apartment belonged to Ahuja and his estranged wife and that Vikram had no ownership right to it.

Also, recently Tania’s nameplate appeared above that of her father’s at the family’s NCPA building property.

Ahuja’s public proclamation disowning his son came just days after Vikram, in a petition filed at the Ballard Pier Metropolitan Court, accused his father of illegally transferring 1,50,000 of his shares in Greenstone Investments — the parent company of Twentieth Century Finance and Consultancy Services — to his own.

In the petition, Vikram claimed 3,58,844 shares in Greenstone Investments - the parent company of Twentieth Century Finance and Consultancy Services (TCFCS), a listed subsidiary of the company. He is also member of Devendra Ahuja HUF (Hindu United Family), which holds another 2,81,074 shares in the company.

He alleges that the company, at the behest of his father, illegally transferred 1,50,000 of his shares and all of Devendra Ahuja HUF’s shares in his name.

Vikram also alleges in the petition that his father visited his house on May 18 threatening to cut him into pieces if he took any action on the share transfer issue.

When the media contacted him, Vikram had then stated, “Anybody who knows our family knows that my father is biased towards my sister Tania and her husband Bobby. While that may be his choice, I at least have the right to fight for what is rightfully mine. I had no choice but to move court.”

Devendra Ahuja Family Feud, Property Dispute - Inside Details

As it happens with all families split over fortunes and women, the conflict over top banker and actor Bobby Deol’s father-in-law Dev Ahuja’s legacy has intensified after his death. At stake is a Rs 300-crore property with several claimants — his 35-year-old son Vikram, daughter Tania and her husband Bobby, his other daughter Munisha, his estranged wife Marlene and his mistress, 20 years his junior.

Devender Ahuja (or Dev Ahuja) and Son Vikram

Vikram had accused his 74-year-old father — who had moved out of his family home and moved in with his girlfriend in 1996 — of being biased towards his sister Tania and brother-in-law Bobby Deol. The flurry of complaints and counter-complaints over 14 long years saw father and son pitted in a no-holds barred battle. While Ahuja cut out Vikram from his home, business and life, Vikram accused Tania and Bobby of trying to influence his father into investing in Bobby’s flagging career.

The feud took an unexpected turn on Friday with Dev Ahuja’s sudden death. Vikram was told in no uncertain terms that he would not be permitted to perform the last rites of his dead father. Instead, Bobby was asked to step in and do the needful.

Bobby Deol With Wife Tanya Deol

On August 1, we brought you the story behind the very public and acrimonious fallout between Devendra Ahuja, promoter of Centurion Bank and MD of 20th Century Finance company, and his son Vikram.

A friend of Vikram, who had access to the developments, comments, “Mr Ahuja’s close friend, Ravi Kiran Agarwal (Chairman, Orbit Communications) had taken complete charge of the funeral arrangements. Tania was constantly by his side. Vikram even hugged her and the two broke down, but that did not change the decision.” “Dev was told by one of his uncles that Agarwal and Tania did not want him to perform the last rites of his father. This goes completely against the Hindu tradition,” added the friend.

A family friend claims that the news of Ahuja’s demise was conveyed to Vikram nearly 45 minutes after it happened. “Vikram was not told about his father’s cardiac arrest on August 20. And when he rushed to the hospital all formalities had been completed and the body was being taken to the morgue, where it was kept till yesterday morning for Bobby to return from his film shoot in Toronto.”

At his father’s apartment in NCPA building – where Tania’s name had recently been added to the nameplate alongside Ahuja’s – the presence of three armed guards at the door prompted Vikram to turn back. On Saturday, Vikram managed to get into his father’s house, where a relative allegedly told him that keeping him in the dark about his father’s cardiac arrest and death was allegedly his sister’s and Agarwal’s decision.

On Sunday, at the Chandanwadi crematorium, Vikram was once again greeted by armed guards and cops, prompting him to leave without paying his last respects to his father. When contacted, Vikram said, “Please leave me alone. I don’t want to talk about this.” But when we probed further, he said, “I am devastated. I was told by one of my uncles that it was on Agarwal and my sister Tania’s insistence that I was not allowed to perform my father’s last rites. We may have had professional differences, but never personal. He was my father and I loved him dearly.”

When contacted, Agarwal said, “Who am I to decide whether Vikram should be allowed to perform the last rites of my friend Dev? Dev’s will clearly reads that Vikram should not touch his body when he is no more. Vikram is responsible for his father’s death. He tortured him mentally.” Despite a text message, Tania remained unavailable for comment.

At the Funeral of Bobby Deol's Father-in-Law Devendra Ahuja

Here's who showed up at Deol Jr's dad-in-law's cremation

Paying respect: Dharmendra and Subhash Chandra Goel

Sharing in sorrow: Bobby and Tanya Deol.

The funeral of Bobby Deol's father-in-law Devendra Ahuja (promoter of Centurion Bank and MD of 20th Century Finance) was held on Sunday at Chandanwadi crematorium. Ahuja died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday morning. He was 74.

Bobby, who was shooting in Canada for Anees Bazmee's Thank You, arrived in Mumbai in the wee hours of Sunday.

Dharmendra and Subash Chandra Goel were present at the funeral.

Devendra Ahuja was in the news recently when he had disinherited his son Vikram and left most of his wealth amounting to some hundreds of crores to daughter Tanya, Bobby's wife.