The Guardian of Bollywood's Fortunes: Meet the Industry's Favourite Chartered Accountant, Bimal Parekh

Mirror, mirror on the wall —who’s the most powerful of them all? Box-office and fees might tell you it’s a film star, but it’s the man behind all the money, who’s the most influential of all: Bollywood’s favourite chartered accountant and financial advisor, Bimal Parekh.

In a career spanning over four decades, Parekh has been the go-to CA for every Bollywood star —from Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Juhi Chawla to Kapil Sharma—and has helped set up and offer financial guidance to major production houses, including Farhan Akhtar-Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment, Zoya Akhtar-Reema Kagti’s Tiger Baby, Bhansali Productions, Ashutosh Gowariker Production, Raj and DK’s D2R Films, and Hansal Mehta’s Karma Pictures among others.

Parekh’s clientele is basically the star-studded Om Shanti Om song, on a balance sheet.

"I don’t consider myself powerful. I became a CA because my father was one," he tells The Hollywood Reporter India from his cabin at Excel Entertainment. “Your power comes from the people you work with, not by your own accord. One must always remember that here,” he adds, as a producer whisks him away for a brief chat while his phone flashes a missed call notification from another top filmmaker. It’s hard to earn money, harder perhaps to catch Parekh.

Edited excerpts from the conversation:

What is the question you are asked at a party when people get to know your area of work?

[Laughs.] Do the celebrities pay? Everyone is apprehensive, initially, that film people don’t pay. But in all these years, not a single client has defaulted. You won’t ask a doctor if the patients pay you the consultancy fee, but if you work in the film industry, that’s the question people ask.

How did you begin your journey?

In the mid ’80s, I started working with a chartered accountancy firm that was handling the works of a few Bollywood individuals, including Zeenat Aman, B.R. Chopra and Nasir Hussain’s family. After four years, I wanted to start on my own. My boss tried to stop me, but I felt the need to branch out. When I was leaving, he gave me two clients as parting gifts — Zeenat Aman, whose work I used to handle, and second was a young actor, who was yet to debut: Aamir Khan!

Then Aamir got you more clients?

He recommended my name to Juhi, who then came on board. Slowly, more names started to come in. Initially, we were doing only income tax audit work; I started financial advisory work much later.

What led to the transition?

I’ve often seen that creative people aren’t good at business — they don’t understand it! So, they’d call me to help them set up their company, crack deals with studios, and consult what fee they should be charging. I also helped them set up companies.

When Ritesh and Farhan went to narrate Aamir Dil Chahta Hai (2001), they also expressed their desire to make the film as producers. I helped them with financial guidance for Excel Entertainment. Then when Lagaan (2001) was released, Ashutosh Gowariker wanted to start his own [production house] so he also came on board. Later, Bhansali reached out through a common friend, and he came on board after Black (2005).

When Juhi Chawla, Shah Rukh Khan and Aziz Mirza started their company Dreamz Unlimited, I was appointed as the auditor and set up that as well. At one point, I was signing balance sheets with both Aamir and Shah Rukh because of their respective production houses!

 Did that make you feel powerful?

No, because your power is coming from them. You need to be humble, if you try to come into the limelight, then you are doomed. It is best to be low profile and focus only on your work.

And in this industry, good word of mouth gets you more work...

Once people came to know about my work, more of it started to come in. Katrina Kaif came through a talent management agency, and Ranbir Kapoor happened because Rishi Kapoor and I had a common friend, through whom we met.

You are Ranbir’s financial advisor, as well as the co-owner of his soccer team...

I knew Ranbir was a huge football fan — he’d go to Barcelona for a day just to watch a match. So, when I read about the auction of a football team, I sensed an opportunity. Juhi has been a client for more than 30 years, so I knew cricket was making huge money.

Ranbir was excited about the idea, so we went to Rishiji, as he was the decision-maker. He was fine with it but wanted to know who’d run the team. I suggested we hire professionals, but Rishiji was of the opinion that someone from the family should be there to look after. It was then that I said I could do it, and he was happy. But he had one question: What will be your fee? I said I’d rather a stake instead! However, it took some time for the game to take off.

Who is sharp with money?

Katrina Kaif is the sharpest. She takes an interest. Aamir and Ranbir are not that bothered! [Laughs.] Then Ritesh Sidhwani and Krishna DK (of Raj-DK director duo) are sharp as well, they understand money.

When you say you also look into the finances of a film, what does it mean?

Now, times have changed — it is much more systematic with line budgets in place. But earlier, when you’d estimate a budget, it wasn’t as scientific a process. You’d calculate that based on the days of shooting, cost per day, and actors’ fees, and then total it up for a rough budget. As I see it, no film flops; it is the budget that does. So, when you make an expensive film and spend more than what is required, you end up losing money.

If you have a story idea, you make the budget basis the estimated cost. Then, you go and pitch it to a studio and tell them the amount required to mount the film. They will first study the budget.

 So, you come on board at the scripting stage?

No, we come later — once everything is ready and the production house wants to get a studio on board. We guide some of them on how to negotiate with studios, what should be the fees, the sharing. Big companies do this on their own, so we work on different models for different people.

Have you ever increased the budget, thinking the project deserves more? Or is it always cost-cutting?

We go for the actual amount, with some buffer. If your film demands to be made on ₹100 crore, and you get ₹80 crore, you cannot make that film to its full potential. The ₹20 crore left short will haunt you.

Now, the industry is anyway going through a tough time; no one knows what’s working, so budgeting becomes all the more important. We also act as a mirror and tell our clients they can’t be charging too much. The actor fee can’t be too much, because everyone needs to make money.

 But do the actors listen?

They do; in fact, we were the first guys who came with the full backend formula in the case of Aamir Khan. No upfront fee, but profit sharing. This way, in Laal Singh Chadha (2022), the studio [Viacom 18] still made money, while Aamir made little. But in Dangal (2016), Aamir made money. We started doing this at a time when everyone would charge an upfront fee. Aamir had casually revealed to me how he charges lower fees, because he doesn’t want his producers to lose money. I was startled and told him a better alternative was to not charge at all but to take a backend.

There’s a list that comes annually with the highest celebrity taxpayers. Now, if your clients make it to the top 10 list, is that something that makes you proud?

No! [Laughs.] In fact, just saying this as a joke, but if your client enters that list, you are perhaps not doing a good job because you are making them pay so much tax! Your job is to see that legally you pay the least possible tax!

What is the golden financial advice you give to industry people?

I tell everyone that this is an industry where you’re on a merry-go-round. One day, you’re at the top; the next day, you’re down. So, remember that you don’t spend all your money when you’re at the top. Because here, money comes and goes very quickly. Actors have a shelf life. Once that shelf-life ends, the income shrinks. So, you have to be very careful. 

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