Asia’s richest person Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita are an inspiration to many. While Mukesh Ambani is the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, Nita Ambani is a philanthropist and businesswoman in her own rights. But did you know that Nita hails from a very humble background and was a teacher before getting married into the Ambani family? Not just this, in an interview she even revealed that it was after her marriage that she was mentored and honed by a business tycoon into the successful person that she is today.
In an earlier interview with Karan Thapar for his show ‘Face to Face’, Nita Ambani had said that she shared a very warm bond with her late father-in-law Dhirubhai Ambani. It was Dhirubhai Ambani who had first seen her at a dance performance and then approached her family for a marriage proposal for her with his elder son Mukesh and the duo later got married. After becoming the ‘Badi Bahu’ of the Ambani family back then, Nita used to spend half-an-hour every day with her father-in-law Dhirubhai Ambani wherein he would quiz her about worldly matters. This pushed Nita to prepare for the discussions each day by reading up on what’s happening in the world.
Recalling her fond memories of her late father-in-law Dhirubhai Ambani, Nita had told Karan Thapar, “Papa was quite a task-master, I must say. 7.30 PM in the evening was half-an-hour with him alone and he used to quiz me, Karan, on different questions– share market, Reliance, politics, world affairs, international affairs. And every time I was forced to read up and I would prepare myself for the next day.”
To this, Mukesh chipped in, “I would get a phone call, ‘What is Papa going to ask me today?’ And I used to tell her maybe so and so… And 8 o’clock in the evening we used to have fun after that.”
Nita further said, “But the next day the questions will be entirely different and I would be totally stumped. And I think those were my growing up years, really, with wonderful memories of Papa (Dhirubhai Ambani).”
When Karan Thapar points out said, “So a lot of Nita that is sitting in front of me is really his creation”, Nita Ambani admittedly said yes.
In the interview, Karan also asked Nita if her life changed dramatically after becoming the Ambani daughter-in-law after marriage. To this she replied, “Surprisingly no, Karan! The values of my family and Mukesh’s family were almost very similar. It was a very closely bonded family– Anil, Deepti, Nina, we used to all have dinner time together. We had a lot of happiness and a lot of caring and sharing. So the transition was really quite smooth. And, I think, I became more of a daughter than a daughter-in-law.”
In a sweet gesture, recently when Nita and Mukesh Ambani welcomed Radhika Merchant as the latest member in their family, Nita had called her an “Ambani beti” rather than a daughter-in-law! For the unversed, Radhika Merchant is the to-be wife of Mukesh and Nita Ambani’s youngest son Anant Ambani. Infact, the Ambanis had thrown a lavish three-day pre-wedding celebrations for Anant and Radhika in March 2024 at their hometown Jamnagar in Gujarat.
In an earlier interview with Karan Thapar for his show ‘Face to Face’, Nita Ambani had said that she shared a very warm bond with her late father-in-law Dhirubhai Ambani. It was Dhirubhai Ambani who had first seen her at a dance performance and then approached her family for a marriage proposal for her with his elder son Mukesh and the duo later got married. After becoming the ‘Badi Bahu’ of the Ambani family back then, Nita used to spend half-an-hour every day with her father-in-law Dhirubhai Ambani wherein he would quiz her about worldly matters. This pushed Nita to prepare for the discussions each day by reading up on what’s happening in the world.
Recalling her fond memories of her late father-in-law Dhirubhai Ambani, Nita had told Karan Thapar, “Papa was quite a task-master, I must say. 7.30 PM in the evening was half-an-hour with him alone and he used to quiz me, Karan, on different questions– share market, Reliance, politics, world affairs, international affairs. And every time I was forced to read up and I would prepare myself for the next day.”
To this, Mukesh chipped in, “I would get a phone call, ‘What is Papa going to ask me today?’ And I used to tell her maybe so and so… And 8 o’clock in the evening we used to have fun after that.”
Nita further said, “But the next day the questions will be entirely different and I would be totally stumped. And I think those were my growing up years, really, with wonderful memories of Papa (Dhirubhai Ambani).”
When Karan Thapar points out said, “So a lot of Nita that is sitting in front of me is really his creation”, Nita Ambani admittedly said yes.
In the interview, Karan also asked Nita if her life changed dramatically after becoming the Ambani daughter-in-law after marriage. To this she replied, “Surprisingly no, Karan! The values of my family and Mukesh’s family were almost very similar. It was a very closely bonded family– Anil, Deepti, Nina, we used to all have dinner time together. We had a lot of happiness and a lot of caring and sharing. So the transition was really quite smooth. And, I think, I became more of a daughter than a daughter-in-law.”
In a sweet gesture, recently when Nita and Mukesh Ambani welcomed Radhika Merchant as the latest member in their family, Nita had called her an “Ambani beti” rather than a daughter-in-law! For the unversed, Radhika Merchant is the to-be wife of Mukesh and Nita Ambani’s youngest son Anant Ambani. Infact, the Ambanis had thrown a lavish three-day pre-wedding celebrations for Anant and Radhika in March 2024 at their hometown Jamnagar in Gujarat.
Rihanna steals the show at pre-wedding bash of Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant in Jamnagar
