'Aetbaar': The forgotten Big B film produced by Ratan Tata
The world is mourning the death of iconic industrialist Ratan Tata, who passed away on Wednesday at 86 due to age-related issues. While he is widely known for heading the Tata Group, not many know that he also had a brief stint in Bollywood. In 2004, Tata co-produced a film called Aetbaar, his only foray into the Indian film industry. It's currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
'Aetbaar': A glimpse into Tata's Bollywood venture
Aetbaar was a romantic psychological thriller directed by Vikram Bhatt. The movie featured Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham, and Bipasha Basu in lead roles. The story followed Bachchan's character Ranveer Malhotra who tries to save his daughter Ria (Basu) from an obsessive lover with a dark past, Aryan (Abraham). It was reportedly inspired by the Hollywood film Fear (1996).
Production and box office performance of 'Aetbaar'
Tata wasn't the only producer of Aetbaar, he shared production credits with Jatin Kumar, Khushroo Bhadha, and Mandeep Singh. The film was originally called Inteha but was renamed since another film with the same name had released just three months ago. Inteha, too, was helmed by Bhatt. Despite its star-studded cast, Aetbaar didn't do well at the box office, reportedly earning only ₹7.96cr against a budget of ₹9.50cr. It has now largely faded from public memory.
Tata's demise and legacy: A nation mourns
The news of Tata's demise was confirmed by Tata Sons's Chairman N Chandrasekaran. In his statement, Chandrasekaran said, "It is with a profound sense of loss that we bid farewell to Mr. Ratan Naval Tata, a truly uncommon leader whose immeasurable contributions have shaped not only the Tata Group but also the very fabric of our nation." Ajay Devgn, Anushka Sharma, Basu, and Salman Khan, among other Bollywood actors, paid him tribute on social media.
