Big B gets `lifeline’ from Big Bull

“With the success of `Kaun Banega Crorepati’ and infusion of funds by private investor Ketan Parikh, AB Corp was planning to pay off the creditors and achieve debt free status before undertaking new ventures,” it said. The board would be reconstituted wherein nominees of Ketan Parekh would be inducted, it said adding, however, Bachchan and Amar Singh would continue as directors.

Also, AB Corp has given mandate to Ketan Parekh-owned Triumph International Finance India to advise it on capital restructuring plans. The ailing AB Corp is launching three movie productions that include a film starring Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan, directed by Mansoor Khan, another film starring Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bhachchan. AB Corp’s third film will have Abhishek Bachchan as the hero, AR Rehman’s music and the director will be Rakesh Mehra.

Currently, AB Corp is in the final stages of the production of the film `AKS’ starring Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpai, Raveena Tandon and Nandita Das. `AKS’ will be released within the next couple of months. It is also in talks for acquiring the Bombay distribution rights of two forthcoming films of Abhishek Bachchan – `Dhai Akshar Prem Ke’ with Aishwarya Rai and `Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai’ with Rani Mukherjee.

It may be recalled that AB Corp (formerly ABCL) was registered before BIFR on March 22, 1999. On July 9, 1999 BIFR declared ABCL sick under section 3 (1) (O) of SICA. In fact, Canara Bank has appealed before the Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction against the BIFR order, refuting ABCL’s claims that it was a manufacturing company.

In fact, Canara Bank has pointed out that while ABCL went to BIFR on March 17, 1999, the application for a factory licence, on which they are relying now to claim that they are a manufacturing company had been given to them less than a week earlier, on March 12, 1999.