The Khan Market

A peek at the balance sheets of Aamir and Shah Rukh’s production houses

In Bollywood, production companies owned by actors have proliferated and thrived. They leverage the star’s pull to build a brand for themselves. Few companies have done this better than Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, with interests in movie production, commercials, television shows, visual effects, equipment rentals, and ineffective gladiatorial cricketers. By comparison, the steep upward trajectory of the company owned by his rival, Aamir Khan, has been relatively noiseless. This competition is, well, epic for how ludicrous it can get (a dog named Shah Rukh is involved, and just a month ago, the newspaper DNA reported that Aamir’s profit-sharing deal with Yash Raj Films would earn him—in fair weather conditions—Rs 30 crore more than Shah Rukh. This did not go unanswered in the press. It was reported that Ra.One’s broadcast rights were sold for much more than the rights of 3 Idiots). But while their income is unverifiable, the balance sheets of their unlisted companies have been made public.

In 2006, Aamir Khan Productions earned a profit of Rs 1.47 lakh. The next year, it jumped to Rs 52 lakh. By 2008, it rose to Rs 12.5 crore, and the company’s income stood at Rs 60 crore, of which over half came from licensing satellite rights, and Rs 19 crore from distribution rights. By 2009, profits grew to Rs 21 crore.

Red Chillies Entertainment earned Rs 8 crore in 2006, which included revenues from selling 21 ‘paper products and T-shirts’ (12,865 remained unsold). In 2007, it earned 12 crore. By 2008, on an income of Rs 72 crore, the company earned a post-tax profit of Rs 7.5 crore. 2009 saw losses of Rs 4.5 crore. The company’s balance sheets show that one of the two directors of Red Chillies loaned the company Rs 42 crore in the financial year before Ra.One, Shah Rukh’s biggest home production, was announced (the television broadcast rights, sold earlier this month, alone recovered Rs 40 crore, Boxofficeindia.com reported).

The verdict: one Khan’s trajectory seems almost calculated, while the other’s fluctuates wildly, in keeping with industry practice.

About The Author

Anurag Tripathi