Do you think it's a poor choice?

absolutely poor choice. the 1.1 cr house is not worth 50L. He will not even recover his investment in that shitty apartment. Most people plan their future with the assumption their income will keep up the same pace as inflation and thier expenses.

Buying an apartment is not just a high capital investment, but also a continuous revenue expense as well. He will be paying 5K-8K/month minimum as maintenance expense as well. So, people who think instead of paying rent, we can buy a house, overlook this expense and make their mistake.

EMI is reduced if you put more down payment (50% instead of 20%). You cannot compare both cases.

Rent and EMI are not comparable. You need to include the opportunity costs of down-payment as well.

Secondly, some places cannot be affordable even on a 20y EMI, but the rent can seem so. Metros have 2-4% rental yields. It's wise to live lavishly during our prime years on rent in metros and leave the city once work needs stop.