DIAMOND COMPANIES (Export performance in 1999-2000)

• B. Vijaykumar & Company: Rs 585 crore
• Vijay Associates Diamond Ltd: Rs 4.5 crore
• Shantital Lalubhai & Sons: Rs 24 lakh
• Vijaystar: Rs 1.09 crore
• B. Vijay Kumar Jewellers: Rs 118 crore

BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION*

• Shantistar Constructions: 400 buildings on 200 acres of land on Mira Road.
• Unique Shanti Developers: Shantinagar, Mira Road.
  Kodak House: Business complex at Worli.
• Navani Shah Constructions

FILMS AND ENTERTAINMENT*

• Vijay Star, Bharat Shah Presents: Finance firms
  Mega Bollywood Ltd: Production & finance firm.
• VIP Enterprise: Film distribution company.
• B4U: TV channel.
• Fire -N- Ice: Discotheque.
• Aryan Informatic Pvt Ltd: Internet firm run by SRK.

*Exact details of Shah's involvement are not available

The future of the following films in which Shah has invested is uncertain

Lajja: Status: Due for release.
Director: Rajkumar Santoshi.Stars: Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala, Jackie Shroff.
Budget: About Rs 25 crore.

Hum Aap Ke Hai Sanam: Status: Due for release. Director: K.C. Bokadia. Stars: Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit. Budget: Over Rs 25 crore.

Devdas: Status: Under production. Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai.
Budget: Rs 30 crore.

Untitled: Status: Production about to begin. Director: Bubby Kent. Stars: Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty. Budget: Rs 20 crore.

Kasoor: Status: Ready for release. Producer/director: Mukesh Bhatt. Stars: Aftab Shivdasani, Lisa Ray.
Budget: Rs 6 crore.

Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar: Status: Under production.
Producer/director: Tanuja Chandra. Stars: Jimmy Shergill, Amisha Patel. Budget: Rs 3 crore.

Tum Ko Meri Kasam: Status: To be launched. Producer/director: Vikram Bhatt. Stars: Aftab Shivdasani, Rani Mukherjee. Budget: Over Rs 5 crore.

Untitled: Status: Launched.
Producer/director: Ketan Desai.
Stars: Rishi Kapoor, Salman Khan, Amisha Patel.
Budget: Rs 25 crore.

Chori Chori Chupke Chupke
Status: Due for release. Producer/director: Nazim Rizvi/ Abbas Mastan.Stars: Rani Mukherjee, Salman Khan, Preity Zinta.
Budget: Rs 12.75 crore.

Aap Mujhe Acche Lagne Lage:
Status: Under production.
Producer/director: Vikram Bhatt.
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, AmishaPatel. Budget: Rs 12 crore.

Hum Panchhi Ek Dal Ke:
Status: Under production.
Producer/ director: Shashilal Nair. Stars: Aishwarya Rai, Sunil Shetty.
Budget: About Rs 15 crore.

Bharat Shah has been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act for aiding and abetting Chhota Shakeel's activities in the film industry. The arrest is based on the transcripts of two separate taped conversations between Shah and Shakeel. The first contains references by producer Nazim Rizvi about Shah and their dealings in connection with CCCC. In the second, Shah has allegedly discussed business and havala deals pertaining to the same film. Though the police claim to have documentary evidence on Shah's business links with the mafia, they have not revealed it. The case has to stand on merit too. Music director Nadeem Saifi's extradition in the Gulshan Kumar murder case was lost on these grounds in London.

Shah's arrest had an immediate impact on the stock market and diamond industry

STOCK MARKET:

The Mumbai stock market lost some of its shine, with the Sensex shedding 63 points on January 8. Panic selling had media and entertainment stocks Mukta Arts, Balaji Telefilms and Zee Telefilms hammered for three days in a row. The market was abuzz with rumours that some of the leading brokers with exposure in media stocks may be associated with Shah. Says Shankar Sharma, director, First Global: "The sell-off in media stocks was mainly due to fears that the entire media and entertainment sector can be de-rated." Magnifying the panic was the fact that many media stocks are new-having been listed in the past year. Media hasn't been a formally corporatised sector after all. Even so, most experts don't expect the stock market to reel under Shah's arrest for too long. Says S.A. Narayan, CEO, Kotak Securities: "It was like bad news and I don't see it as having a long-term impact on media stocks."

DIAMOND INDUSTRY:

Shah was a bigger player here, with estimates suggesting that he alone accounted for 2 per cent of the country's total diamond trade. Diamonds worth Rs 35,000 crore are exported every year. In 1988, Shah was conferred the title of "Diamantaire of the Year" and he has also won the "Exporter of the Decade" award for 1980-90. Shah's B. Vijaykumar and Co has been the largest exporter of diamonds for 15 years. No wonder, diamond traders called an all-India bandh on January 10, which apparently resulted in a loss of Rs 100 crore. Traders, however, expect that routine business won't be disturbed in the long run.

Full coverages
with columns, infographics, audio reports.

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