Industrialist titan Ratan Tata's passing at the age of 86 left the entire nation in shock and grieving. The CEO of Tata Group and philanthropist passed away last night when admitted at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. His conglomerate has a strong empire spread across every industry from aviation to food to steel and IT. However, his lesser-known financial involvement is Bollywood production. 

Ratan Naval Tata made his foray into Bollywood in 2004 with Amitabh Bachchan. Despite carrying a star personality he didn’t become an actor yet stepped into the film-making business. With a huge business empire, he tried his hands at the cinema as well becoming a producer. He bankrolled a film titled Aetbaar in 2004 but unfortunately didn’t succeed.  

Aetbaar, a romantic psychological, starred Amitabh Bachchan, John Abraham, and Bipasha Basu in leading roles. Directed by Vikram Bhatt the film was co-produced by Rata Tata and Jatin Kumar. Aetbaaar explored themes of obsession and family dynamics. It was inspired by the Hollywood film Fear. 

The film didn’t open to good reviews from critics and audiences alike. Despite a promising star cast Aetbaaar struggled at the box office, earning less than Rs 5 crore in its opening week against a budget of Rs 9.5 crore, and finishing with a total worldwide collection of only Rs 8 crore. This resulted in financial losses for producer Ratan Tata, who had aimed to venture into Bollywood production. Unfortunately, the film did not resonate with people marking Aetbaar as Tata’s sole venture in films.