Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who passed away at the age of 62 on August 14, was known to have been involved in the entertainment industry. He produced Sridevi-starrer English Vinglish in 2012 and Shamitabh, Ki & Ka in later years.
Sometime around his fiftieth birthday, Jhunjhunwala or Big Bull as he was called, in conversation with Business Today TV's Global Business Editor Udayan Mukherjee, was quizzed if Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra, known for her performances in films like Barfi and Bajirao Mastani, was his favourite heroine.
Mukherjee, while recollecting the incident, stated, "So when I met him, I said [to] Rakesh I'd say that you've become quite the ladies man these days. Priyanka Chopra and all I mean. Is she your favourite Bollywood heroine now or what?"
“To this, Jhunjhunwala quipped that he actually loves Rekha (his wife).”
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"So you know for a moment I was thrown. I thought it was Rekha the Bollywood heroine but actually, he was talking about his wife Rekha and I burst out laughing because it was such a clever thing to say: I love Rekha and not Priyanka Chopra," Mukherjee pointed out.
This was followed by a quick reply by Jhunjhunwala. Mukherjee noted, "He just looked at me and said hey young man don't you go around trying those tricks with me. Don't teach your grandmother how to suck eggs, as they say in England.”
Sridevi-starrer 'English Vinglish' (2012) was made at a budget of Rs 20 crore and managed to rake in Rs 84 crore globally. His other two projects – Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush-starrer ‘Shamitabh’ (2015) and R Balki-directorial ‘Ki & Ka’ (2016) – could not garner much traction as both of them collected Rs 22.46 crore and Rs 70 crore at the box office respectively.
Jhunjhunwala was dubbed as the 'Warren Buffett of India' and his sudden death led to outpouring of tributes for a self-made billionaire whose fortunes rose with the country's economy.
Jhunjhunwala died a week after the launch of his budget airline ‘Akasa Air’. He had looked and sounded frail promoting the carrier.
He is survived by his wife, whom he used to call his only client, and three children. He leaves stakes in around three dozen Indian companies and a legacy of quoting one-liners like "the trend is your friend" and "the only rule I have is there are no rules”.
Jhunjhunwala was a big public supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who lauded him, on August 14, as "indomitable, full of life, witty and insightful”.
Jhunjhunwala's communication skills helped small investors understand the stock market, said businessmen and bankers based in India's financial capital, Mumbai, who had interacted with him for over 30 years. His insights on the economy and companies made him a TV celebrity.
Born in the state of Rajasthan and trained in chartered accountancy, Jhunjhunwala started dabbling in stocks as a teenager and went on to manage a stock trading firm, RARE Enterprises. His net worth was about $6 billion, according to Forbes.
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