NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 28: When Amitabh Bachchan and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh expressed a desire to hold a Press conference at Mandi House two days ago to announce repayment of their company's debts to the Prasar Bharati Corporation, no one was in a mood to say no.And no one was complaining today though the officials clarified that the press conference had not been organised by DD. But then, Bachachan is not an ordinary debtor. With a show that has hooked the nation and Rs 21 crore as dues, he also tops the list of DD's defaulters.Armed with a Bank of India cheque of Rs 96,553,558, half of what he owes to DD, Bachchan had come to clear his name. ``I had made a commitment to clear all my company's dues though it was declared sick by the BIFR last year,'' he said.The cheque led to wild speculation about the identity of his financier. Was it Big Bull Ketan Parekh, who had picked up stakes in AB Corp two months ago or was it an old friend in Sahara who was bailing him out? No light was shed.While Bachchan himself did not speak much, his friend hoped that Bachchan would be a shining example to other defaulters who owed money to the public broadcaster and urged them to pay up. ``DD's money is public money, and though I am aware that companies are in a position to clear their dues, they should come forward and pay up soon,'' Singh said.While Doordarshan is in the process of cracking the whip on all the defaulters - having made the defaulters list public for the first time in Parliament this year - to Bachachan went the honour of topping the list with his Rs 21-crore debt. This happened because of his company's inability to market the Miss World Cup pageant held four years ago and programmes like Chitrahar and Rangoli.Bachchan's AB Corp will be paying up the remaining amount of Rs 10 crore in three quarterly instalments next year, hopefully settling his debts by September. As for the interest of Rs 12 crore accumulated on the principal amount, Bachchan will be performing community service on DD, spreading social messages to viewers in the new year, taking time off to complete production of three films, one starring his own son and wife, under the AB Corp banner. This would leave him with little time for politics. He said so at the Press conference with friend Amar Singh looking on.
