By Victor Dasgupta

Copyright india

New Delhi: India remembered Ratan Tata the former chairman of the Tata Group an esteemed industrialist and philanthropist on his first death anniversary. Tata passed away on October 9 2024 at the age of 86. Under his abled leadership the Tata Group touched new heights and made some landmark acquisitions including Jaguar Land Rover. His contributions earned him several accolades including the Padma Bhushan in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.
The nation remembers Ratan Tata as a visionary industrialist philanthropist and source of inspiration. However very few people know that the legendary chairman of the Tata Group had once stepped into Bollywood as well.
Here are some of the interesting facts:
Ratan Tata produced the 2004 film Aetbaar which starred Amitabh Bachchan John Abraham and Bipasha Basu in lead roles.
The film was a romantic psychological thriller directed by renowned filmmaker Vikram Bhatt.
This film was produced by Tata under the banner of BSS.
Ratan Tata along with other producers participated in this project.
The film had a budget of Rs 9.50 crore but managed to earn only Rs 7.96 crore at the box office.
It was the only film ever produced by Ratan Tata and after this he completely distanced himself from Bollywood.
Ratan Tata’s foray into Bollywood became a topic of discussion at the time
Ratan Tata was a person who had already established his dominance in sectors like automobiles steel and technology through the Tata Group.
Although Aetbaar was commercially unsuccessful it stands as a symbol of Ratan Tata’s versatility and his courage to take creative risks.
The story of Aetbaar revolves around the relationship between a father and his daughter. Amitabh Bachchan played the role of Dr. Ranvir Malhotra who is extremely possessive about his daughter Riya Malhotra (Bipasha Basu). He tries to protect her from her partner Aryan Trivedi (John Abraham). The film had a mix of suspense emotions and romance but it failed to attract audiences to the theatres.