DD Kisan channel brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan gets Rs 6.31 crore

Doordarshan’s Kisan Channel was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26, at a time when debt-ridden farmers were committing suicide across the country. According to a news report, the officials had first considered actor-couple Ajay Devgn and Kajol. They also discussed Salman Khan, before finally zeroing in to senior Bachchan. Amitabh Bachchan is also the brand ambassador of Gujarat.

The report also goes on to say how Lintas India Private Ltd., an agency empanelled with Doordarshan, bargained hard with the channel officials to have Bachchan endorse the channel for Rs. 6.31 crore. The initial agreed sum towards the total cost of celebrity endorsement was Rs. 4.02 crore.

This endorsement of the Kisan Channel by Bachchan is reportedly the actor’s most expensive endorsement till date. Reacting on the issue, Congress spokesman Salman Khurshid said that spending such a huge sum on the endorsement was not necessarily a good idea when the farmers plight is worsening due to the agrarian crisis.