Making hay while the son shines

Abhishek will be a busy star this year - and AB Corp has decided to acquire a stake in most forthcoming films starring the Bachchan scion

Abhishek Bachchan believes in concentrating on his acting career and taking care of the family business at the same time. In what could be called a smart business decision, news has it that post Paa, which was co-produced by the their production house AB Corp, the Bachchans have decided that most films starring Abhishek will be either distributed or co-produced by AB Corp. Interestingly, this year marks the beginning of one of the most hectic work phases in Abhishek’s life. Abhishek Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan According to trade sources, Saraswati Creations, which too is Bachchans’ in-house banner, reportedly has a stake in Mani Ratnam’s Raavana to release on June 18 this year. The film is being presented by Reliance Big Entertainment and is co-produced by Mani Ratnam. Abbas Mustan’s Hindi remake of The Italian Job, produced by Studio 18 with Abhishek in the lead will also be distributed overseas by AB Corp. It is being said that even in the case of Goldie Behl’s next, directed by Anurag Basu and starring Abhishek, the Bachchans are the stake holders. In other words, with the exception perhaps of Karan Johar’s Dostana 2 and Excel Entertainment’s Crooked produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, AB Corp will own either full or part stakes in most of Abhishek’s films. Considering that Guru established Abhishek’s equity as a star, it isn’t surprising that the production house has come up with this strategy. Incidentally, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar have been doing the same for a while. They have been keeping a territory of their films (either overseas or Mumbai/Delhi) and in some cases they even own a stake in the Intellectual Property Rights. A trade source said, “Even during Paa, it was Abhishek who took most of the major business decisions including curtailing costs. Now his home banner has decided to acquire the rights of his films either for satellite/overseas distribution or even on a partnership basis.’’ When asked about whether AB Corp would indeed buy most of Abhishek’s movies or hold a stake in it, Amitabh Bachchan said, “No, not necessarily.” Trade pundits however say that AB Corp is keeping its doors open to acquiring part or full rights of most future films starring Abhishek.