Remembering Ratan Tata: When the Tata Scion tried his luck in Bollywood

Legendary Indian business tycoon Ratan Tata departed on October 9 leaving the entire nation in grief. Ratan Tata, the great-grandson of Jamsetji Tata, was the scion of the illustrious Tata family. With his leadership as the chairman of the Tata Group, he put the company on the global map. The global enterprise has over 100 independent companies operating all over the world. In the past three decades, Tata Industries ventured into several sectors. However, did you know that Ratan Tata once tried his luck in Bollywood?

Ratan Tata and Tata Industries

The 'Business Tycoon' achieved mighty success in all sectors that he tried his hands on. Ratan Tata also developed an interest in the film sector and tried his luck in Bollywood. But, not as an actor. He produced a Hindi film that starred Millennium Star Amitabh Bachchan along with John Abraham and Bipasha Basu. Aetbaar is the first film produced by Ratan Tata and it remained the only movie ever produced by the 'Business Titan.'

The romantic psychological thriller film Aetbaar was helmed by Vikram Bhatt and produced by Ratan Tata under Tata Infomedia. The movie was released in 2004.

However, luck didn't favour Ratan Tata in this sector and the movie became a box-office disaster. Despite the ensemble of star power, the movie couldn't recover its budget.

Aetbaar's plot was inspired by the 1996 American film Fear. The film is about a father protecting his daughter from a psychopathic lover. While Amitabh played the role of the father, Bipasha played his daughter's character and John played the role of the psychopathic lover.

According to media reports, the movie was made at a budget of Rs 9.50 crore. However, the lifetime domestic box office collection of Aetbaar was Rs 4.25 crore and the global collection was Rs 7.96 crore. 

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Reportedly, the Business Tycoon had a lot of expectations from the movie. But l, his hopes shattered after it failed to create a mark at the box office. After this, he never invested money in the film business again.

His sudden demise has left the entire country shocked, and condolences are pouring in from all quarters including the Indian Film Industry. Eminent personalities from the sector including actors and filmmakers expressed their grief and offered prayers for the departed soul.

T 5159(i) - .. just came to learn of the passing of Shri Ratan Tata .. was working very late ..
An era has ended .. a most respected , humble yet visionary leader of immense foresight and resolve ..
Spent some wonderful moments with him, during several Campaigns we were…

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) October 10, 2024

It’s a sad day for all Indians.
For generations together there is not a single Indian whose life hasn’t been touched by his services one way or the other.

One of the greatest visionaries our country has ever seen, a truly legendary industrialist, a philanthropist… pic.twitter.com/YHBiX00dNv

— Chiranjeevi Konidela (@KChiruTweets) October 10, 2024

India’s most valuable man, not necessarily for his vast wealth, but for his values.. largest being Integrity !! Never a show off but always the star ⭐️ The life #RatanTata ji led will always be an inspiration🙏 pic.twitter.com/yqbNTGWrT9

— Randeep Hooda (@RandeepHooda) October 9, 2024

Sir Ratan Tata showed us that true success is measured by the lives we touch. Grateful for his inspiration, and for teaching us to lead with kindness. True legacies are built on what we leave behind… Thank you for everything, Sir 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/uFnFfyPKoO

— Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) October 9, 2024