Simi Garewal pens heartfelt farewell note for friend Ratan Tata: ‘It’s too hard to bear your loss’

Actor Simi Garewal, who is not very active on social media, made an exception on Thursday as she mourned the passing away of her ‘friend’ and industrialist Ratan Tata.

Her farewell note, however, was more personal than any others from Bollywood. Decades ago, Simi and Ratan were known to be romantically involved. They had remained friends afterwards.

Sharing a collage of pictures of the late Ratan Tata and herself from his appearance on her show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal on X, the actress wrote: “They say you have gone .. It's too hard to bear your loss..too hard.. Farewell my friend.. Ratan Tata”.

In 2011, Simi shared that she dated Ratan Tata for a brief time when she was still active in Bollywood. However, she revealed, they parted ways but continued to remain close friends.

“Ratan and I go back a long way. He’s perfection, he’s got a sense of humour, is modest, and the perfect gentleman. Money was never his driving force. He’s not as relaxed in India as he is abroad,” Simi said in a 2011 interview with The Times of India.

Ratan Tata, who never married and had no children, had grown close to his trusted friend and assistant Shantanu Naidu over the last 10 years.

Naidu, in a post on LinkedIn, shared a picture with Tata, and said he would now spend the rest of his life trying to fill in the void that the industrialist's passing away has created.

“The hole that this friendship has now left with me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to fill. Grief is the price to pay for love. Goodbye, my dear lighthouse,” the post read.

Passing away of Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata, passed away at the age of 86 late on Wednesday (October 9) night. 

The iconic industrialist, who redefined the Tata Group and steered its international presence, was admitted to Candy Breach Hospital Mumbai, where he breathed his last.

To honor the industrialist and mourn his demise, several states, including Maharashtra and Jharkhand, announced one-day state mourning on Thursday.

The Tata Chairman's mortal remains would be taken to the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai, where the public can pay their last respects from 10:30 am to 3:30pm.