The true-story-inspired show ‘Made in India: A Titan Story’ delves into the history of the Indian watch brand, Titan, which found its start in the foyer of a dwindling Press company. Xerxes Desai, a project manager at the Tata Group, has big aspirations of bringing his country into the market of world-class watchmaking. As a result, in pursuit of the same project, he puts together an early barebones team, including his close friend, Akash Bansal, a marketing head, Megha Mhatre, and Gaurav Dhat, the Head engineer.
This core group watches and shapes the astronomical growth of their dreams, taking Titan from a passion project to one of the biggest watchmaking ventures of its time. Gaurav’s character remains a crucial part of the on-screen company’s growth. Thus, the potential real-life influences behind the character are bound to attract the audience’s intrigue.
Bhaskar Bhat is the Real-Life Inspiration Behind Guarav Dhar
‘Made in India: A Titan Story’ is a series that presents a dramatized version of the actual corporate history of the world of watchmaking. Notably, it is based on Vinay Kamath’s book ‘Titan: Inside India’s Most Successful Consumer Brand.’ As a result, most of the characters and the storylines explored in the series end up finding some degree of real-life basis behind them. This is true for Guarav Dhar, a character inspired by Bhaskar Bhat, the real-life executive who was a part of Titan’s journey since even before its inception. Initially, Xerxes Desai came up with the idea for the Tata Group to expand into the watchmaking market almost a decade before his dream could come to fruition.
Around the early 1980s, Desai and his collaborators began working on the Tata Watch Project, the earliest rendition of the company. During this time, Bhat, who had a B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras and a PGDBM from IIM Ahmedabad, interviewed for a position in the project. The interview took place at Tata Press Limited, a company that will eventually cease to exist, and earned the engineer a role in the Tata Watch Project. Thus, in May 1983, Bhat left his job at Godrej for the exciting new opportunity, helping it grow from an idea into a full-fledged venture. At the company, his responsibilities included general manager roles, sales/marketing, human resources, and international business.
In the show, Gaurav’s role during the time of Titan’s inception and after revolves around the Engineering department. He offers technical expertise in the industry from the perspective of someone well-versed in the art of mechanics. Notably, he’s one of the very first employees Xerxes and Akash welcome into their project, which eventually turns into a legitimate and promising company. His persistent collaboration with the company reflects the brand’s family-like values, which were a foundational aspect of its identity from the very beginning. All these nuances of the character are directly drawn from the real-life role and impact that Bhat had on Titan during his long-standing tenure. Even so, a certain distance remains between the real-life executive and his on-screen counterpart, as evidenced by the differences in their names. This is done in order to allow room for some creative liberty.
Bhaskar Bhat Was the Managing Director of Titan From 2002 to 2019
Bhaskar Bhat became a part of Titan in 1983, an entire year before the company was officially founded. Almost two decades later, in 2002, he went on to helm the managing director position, inheriting the title from his mentor and the company’s founder. Under his leadership, Titan branched out further into other sectors, expanding its business into eyewear, accessories, fragrances, and even a select few clothing ventures. Simultaneously, he also contributed significantly to the growth of Tanishq, a prominent Indian jewelry brand owned by the parent company.
By the late 2010s, Titan’s market capitalization had grown to $13 billion. This made the venture the second-largest business under the Tata Group. In 2019, Bhat received the Forbes India Leadership Awards Special Jury Award. That same year, he departed from the position of Managing Director. Yet, he continues to retain a directorial board position within the company. He’s still involved in the decisions that get made behind the scenes as an integral member of various board committees, including the Executive Committee, the Investment Committee, the Stakeholders Relationship Committee, and more. He’s also a part of Tata Sons and Trent Limited, a retail company. Therefore, even in retirement, he has remained a crucial part of Titan’s makeup and its continued success.
Additionally, Bhat is also involved in various other businesses and ventures, holding major managerial and leadership positions across the board. He’s the chairman of Vistara, aka Tata SIA Airlines Limited. He’s also a part of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu’s Board of Governors at the National Institute of Technology as the chairperson of the board. He’s a board member at IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation as well, overseeing sectors of TA Pai Management Institute, SDM Institute of Management, and the National Institute of Design. Lastly, he’s also the independent director of Robert Bosch GmbH in India, better known as BOSCH India. Thus, Bhat continues to add new feathers to his legacy while still retaining an intimate working relationship with Titan.
Read More: Is Akash Bansal Based on Titan’s Real Founding Member?
