Actor-entrepreneur Juhi Chawla is often named amongst one of the wealthiest actors in Bollywood. According to Hurun Rich List, she has an estimated net worth of Rs 7,790 crore, while her husband, businessman Jay Mehta, is associated with a business empire valued at nearly Rs 17,500 crore. While much of the public conversation around their wealth often circles around their stake in the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which they have now sold, the roots of the Mehta family’s fortune go back more than a century—and include a remarkable chapter in Gujarat’s history. Few people know that there was a time when the Gujarat government reportedly turned to Jay Mehta’s grandfather, industrialist Nanji Kalidas Mehta, for financial assistance during a severe financial crisis. When Gujarat government borrowed money from Juhi Chawla’s in-laws In 1960, the erstwhile bilingual Bombay State was officially divided into two separate states—Maharashtra and Gujarat. While the political reorganisation was historic, the newly formed Gujarat faced significant economic and administrative challenges. Many major industrial and financial centres remained in Maharashtra, leaving …