Amitabh Bachchan was picked to be the brand ambassador of Incredible India a few months ago. His name was linked to Panama papers earlier in April.
Highlights
- Amitabh Bachchan was chosen to be part of the campaign a few months ago
- His name was reportedly suggested by the Prime Minister's office
- His name leaked in the list of people with offshore accounts to avoid tax
has made the government press pause on signing up actor Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassador of its mega tourism campaign Incredible India, sources have said.
There was a rethink, the sources said, after the 73-year-old superstar's
name appeared earlier this month on a list of 500 Indians in what has been dubbed the Panama Papers - a massive leak of tax documents on offshore companies and accounts of the rich and the powerful.
Amitabh Bachchan and actress Priyanka Chopra were chosen a few months ago to replace actor Aamir Khan as the face of the high profile campaign to market the country to tourists abroad. The Prime Minister's Office reportedly suggested the name of Mr Bachchan, who has served as brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism from the time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the state's chief minister.
Mr Bachchan is also the ambassador for Maharashtra's "Save Tiger project," and the opposition Congress in the state has demanded that he be removed from that role till he gets a "clean chit" in the Panama controversy.
Amitabh Bachchan has said his name may have been "misused" in the Panama reports. "I do not know any of the companies referred to by Indian Express - Sea Bulk Shipping Company Ltd, Lady Shipping Ltd, Treasure Shipping Ltd, and Tramp Shipping Ltd. I have never been a director of any of the above stated companies. It is possible that my name has been misused," he had said in a statement
Mr Bachchan also said that he had "paid all my taxes including on monies spent by me overseas. Monies that I have remitted overseas have been in compliance with law... after paying Indian taxes. In any event the news report in Indian Express does not even suggest any illegality on my part."
The Indian Express was among more than 100 media groups which investigated the 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm with offices in 35 countries.
As with many of the people named in the documents, there is no evidence offered that the Bollywood A-listers used their companies for improper purposes, and having an offshore entity is not illegal.