Bahubali, NaMo, Vande Mataram jazz up an emotional Reliance AGM

Firm shows audio visual of old clips of Dhirubhai at various AGMs and a young Mukesh by dad's side

Held exactly a day after, Reliance Industries announced picking up of a stake in Balaji Telefilms, the oil to telecom major’s annual general meeting was nothing short of a dramatic affair-packed with emotions, nostalgia, grandeur and populism.

Reliance Industries’ 40th AGM opened with the company’s chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani walking the aisle of the Birla Matoshree Auditorium in Mumbai to a huge round of applause. This grand entry was to set the mood for the remaining part of the meeting, with deafening applause throughout the almost two-hour long speech of Ambani.
 

Remembering the company’s founder chairman Dhirubhai Ambani at each AGM is a regular affair, however, the company this time surprised shareholders with a short audio visual made with old clips of the senior Ambani addressing the various annual general meeting in the last few decades and a young Mukesh Ambani by his father’s side. While the mention of the company’s founder chairman left shareholders overwhelmed, it also left his widowed wife Kokilaben teary-eyed.
 

For RIL and its shareholders, bonus announcements have always been a grand affair, and AGMs are meant for grandeur announcements. The company this time again lived up to the tradition. “Dhirubhai was heard in this auditorium after 15 years, on such an occasion, in keeping with the tradition of our founder, to share prosperity with all shareholders, I am delighted to share with you the decision that we made while you were watching the film, we had a board meeting and the board of directors have decided to recommend a bonus issue of 1.1 ratio,” Ambani said at the end of the audio-visual played in the auditorium.
 

Not just the senior Ambani, the next generation of the Ambani clan also made an appearance. Mukesh Ambani stepped back, for Isha Ambani and Akash Ambani, directors on Jio’s board, take centre stage as they unveiled Jio’s latest offering-Jio phones. 

“The Jio phone is an awesome innovation, made in India, by young Indians and for all. It is our great honour to introduce to you the Jio phone to you,” said Isha Ambani, as she was joined by brother Akash Ambani and Kiran Thomas, assistant vice-president at Reliance Industries. Mukesh and Nita Ambani, also seemed to have their own little private conversation, as the younger generation addressed shareholders.

With the company making headway into the digital realm with Jio services, the country’s tech-savvy Prime Minister Narendra Modi also found generous mention in Ambani’s speech. “The launch of the JioPhone will fulfill the dream of our Founder, Shri. Dhirubhai Ambani and the Digital India vision of our Prime Minister Hon’ble Shri Narendra Modi,” Ambani said. The mention was soon after followed by loud ‘Modi’ chants from the audience.

The meeting also saw shades of both patriotism and populism, as Akash Ambani chose to play Vande Mataram and Prime Minister Modi’s "Mann ki Baat", while demonstrating video and audio features on the Jio phone. This year’s most talked about movie — Bahubali’s trailer also found a place on the big screen at this AGM, as part of the phone demo.

The second-half of the meeting also had its own share of chaos with shareholders being jeered at with whistles and screams from the audience for not keeping with the two-minute duration given to each to speak.

The RIL AGM is typically known for several hours spent allowing shareholders their share of time to comment on the company’s performance. This time around, this part of the AGM was drastically altered with Ambani requesting shareholders to reach out on email for the paucity of time. However, with a bonus share to now look forward to, not many may be complaining.