Crorepati’s woes: Bachchan to clear dues with DD spots

If you see Amitabh Bachchan praising Doordarshan in a 180-second ad campaign, don’t be surprised. He is only trying to clear his dues.I...

If you see Amitabh Bachchan praising Doordarshan in a 180-second ad campaign, don’t be surprised. He is only trying to clear his dues.

It took the public-funded Prasar Bharati Corporation three years and an equal number of CEOs, to arrive at the right formula to get Bachchan to pay up the interest on his dues.

Out of a total of Rs 32 crore that Bachchan’s company Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) was supposed to pay up, Rs 19.53 crore was the principal amount and Rs 12.52 crore was the interest on the principal that had to be paid.

Story continues below this ad

While Bachchan drove down to Mandi House with friend and mediator Amar Singh to clear the principal amount three years ago, it was the recovery of the interest that drove officials round the bend. Singh had informed the Indian Express then, that the superstar would endorse social campaigns on DD in lieu of the interest amount on his dues.

Officials who agreed then, found the journey tough as they wracked their brains to negotiate a fee. As is the normal practice, DD pays a ‘princely’ sum of Rs 5,000 (for VIPs), which is occasionally hiked to Rs 10,000 (for VVIPs) to endorse social messages. But officials said Bachachan would then have had to work for a very long time to clear his Rs 12.52 crore dues at DD’s rates.

While the figures ranged from Rs three to 10 crore, three years went by. Then, the Prasar Bharati Board met yesterday and endorsed a formula that would get Bachchan to endorse 10 social messages, which would then be adjusted with his interest amount. CEO K.S. Sarma said, ‘‘If Bachchan agrees, he will be required to do 10 commercials of 180 seconds each,’’ Sarma said, adding that Bachchan will also ‘‘put in a good word for DD’’ in his campaign. ‘‘Of the 10 messages, Bachchan will be required to campaign for DD also,’’ officials said.