Vijay Mallya’s recent podcast with Raj Shamani, standing at a whopping 4-hour duration and collecting 20 million views in four days, is the talk of the town these days.
Appearing in an interview after almost a decade, Mallya spoke about the controversial Kingfisher Airlines downfall, his court case, and more. It really is a master study in marketing and PR, the total role reversal it has given to Mallya, who was once hated for his actions, now has thousands of people giving him sympathy and speaking in his favour. However, some people are trying to point out the PR tactics that are being used here and how the man might not be as much of a victim as he is trying to appear in the podcast.
Is Vijay Mallya a Victim?
One thing that the podcast somehow managed to do is create a lot of discussion around Mallya’s image, his so-called innocence, and whether he was a misunderstood individual, taken advantage of by higher authorities. This has been challenged by several people online, who have countered the narrative that the podcast appears to be promoting by presenting facts related to his case. It has also been alleged that influencers or paid bots are being used to promote the narrative that Mallya is a victim in this case.
Strategy consultant Shubham Sharma, in a LinkedIn post, wrote about how the goal of the podcast was to make the audience believe that Mallya is a victim and debunk some of the claims made in the podcast so that “you don’t get ‘manipulated’ by a podcast!”
Sharma wrote that, “a 4-hour episode can’t erase 14 years of evidence, two sovereign courts, and an entire country’s pursuit of accountability.
Here are the facts btw:
- The real default was far beyond ₹6,203 Cr
The actual loan default was much bigger than what Mallya admits, Kingfisher Airlines borrowed ₹9,000+ crore from 17 public sector banks.
These were restructured twice over a decade, by the time the airline collapsed, unpaid dues snowballed with interest, penalties, and legal defaults.
- Yes, for that, Mallya offered to pay “everything”.
What he offered was ₹4,000 crore, when the banks were chasing over ₹9,000 crore.
Meanwhile, during this period, employees went unpaid, vendors shut operations, and public money sat locked in NPA accounts.
If that’s his idea of justice, imagine what yours would look like if you tried to settle your home loan at 45%.
- Personal lifestyle ≠ Personal funds
Mallya argues he used “his own money” for IPL teams, Formula 1, and luxury events. But when the airline was sinking, staff unpaid, airports owed crores, and vendors abandoned?
CAG reports, IT filings, and banks all show how money kept moving through complex cross-holdings within the UB Group, some of which blurred the line between personal wealth and corporate dues.
If you don’t want the public to confuse your lifestyle with public default, don’t fly hybrid dogs in private jets while 1,500 people are owed salaries.
- Why did it take years of litigation and international diplomacy to get this money back?
Because Mallya did everything he could to delay the process:
> Challenged extradition in the UK for years.
> Filed appeals at every stage of enforcement in India.
> Fled from a trial and then spun a media narrative: “I’m being hunted unfairly.”
The truth is, the Indian government didn’t act too harshly. It acted too patiently.
Conclusion:
Mallya runs with the public’s money, tries to rewrite history when it suits him, and expects to walk away as the victim.
DRT passed a binding recovery order.
Courts across two countries called him a fugitive.
The Enforcement Directorate traced every shell and every transfer.”
He concluded his post writing, “So no, Mr. Mallya, you’re not a misunderstood patriot or a scapegoat. And no, we don’t owe you an apology. If anything, you still owe us a few answers.”
Read More: Bikinis, Beaches, And Bankruptcy: ED Times Interviews India’s Own Bhaagi, Vijay Mallya, For This Week’s Fake Friendly Fridays!
Financial consultant Fazlur Shah in a LinkedIn post also wrote, “Before Raj Shamani’s podcast, Vijay Mallya was the villain who ran away with our money. After the podcast, it feels like we owe him money, interest included. One conversation flipped the script from ‘bank scam’ to ‘media misunderstanding.'”
Dr Aniruddha Malpani, an angel investor and IVF specialist, in a tweet claimed, “#VijayMallya is paying influencers to get us to feel sorry for him. Height of hypocrisy. Looks like people are willing to sell their reputation and credibility for money.”
X/Twitter user @thekaipullai also posted a lengthy post calling out Mallya, and he is “once again proving to the world that in India, as long as you speak polished English, you can get away with anything.”
Listing out five points regarding this whole issue, he wrote, “To all the people who think Vijay Mallya is a saint, a victim of circumstance and political vendetta, here are some things you should think about.
Point no 1: The basis of any law is intent, and you are a criminal if you willfully break it. Vijay Mallya willfully, deliberately, with a sound mind and body, broke the law. In fact, he blew thru it in an armored Humvee at 300 kmph. When he ran away, he was a Rajya Sabha MP with a diplomatic passport. If he was so sure that the cases that were filed were wrong, he could have stayed back and fought them in a court of law. He didn’t. Deliberately. And if you deliberately break the law, you are a criminal. Period.
Point no 2: You can come up with all the legalese, limited liability, corporate separation etc etc, to acquit Mallya of all his salary liabilities. And you are probably right. And wrong. Are you telling me that a man like Vijay Mallya, who could go to London on a “pre-planned” trip and then stay there for 10 years, who turn and twist the Indian aviation policy to favour him, one who also ran India’s biggest alcohol company, was so helpless that he couldn’t pay Kingfisher employees?
This is a guy who used to wantonly pledge UB shares to raise money for Kingfisher, that too without informing UB Shareholders. He even sold 8% of UB without informing the stock exchanges. He treated UB as a bank to fund Kingfisher when it was having good times. So, why suddenly talk about limited liabilities when things got sour? Then there is always his personal/generational wealth.
In 2015, when Kingfisher employees were without salaries for 5 years, some even committed suicide, he had a party to end all parties in Goa. The cost of the party alone would’ve exceeded the annual salaries of the bottom 30% of his employees. This was when he was already neck deep in legal troubles. Now if he can manifest money for that jamboree, couldn’t he have found some money for Kingfisher employees? He could have. But he didn’t want to.
I agree, it is his money, and he can choose to spend it however he wants. But if he wants to spend it on parties and lifestyle, then he should not shed crocodile tears on PR podcasts, give apologies as honest as Byjus’ account statement,s and say there was nothing he could do. If the bugger can transplant a palace 500 feet up in the sky, sure he could have found a way to pay those poor people.
Point no 3 Some people said, all he did was run a business badly, surely it was no act of crime. First, he collected PF and Tax from employees, but didn’t give it to the government. And the fact that he did it deliberately is a criminal act 1. He deliberately didn’t pay fuel costs, airport handling costs, maintenance costs, and all the other Kingfisher Airline operational costs.
That is criminal act no 2. So many small-scale vendors, ones who provided food, the guys who stitched those beautiful uniforms, the ones who provided cleaning staff etc etc, were also defaulted on payments. Many of them even shut down. That is criminal act no 3.
Insider trading, not informing exchanges, diverting shares from one corporation to the other, the list of wrongful activities goes on and on. You get the drift. The most damning indictment is the fact that Mallya has not come back after a spending a decade abroad. He knows what criminalities he has done. The fact that he is hiding away in London and is making extra efforts to stay there, in itself, points to his guilt.
Point no 4 Some say that Govt has recovered his money. So, what is the problem? The problem is that if you willfully default a loan and the banks sell your assets to recover the amount, you still are a criminal under Section 420, 406, and 409.
They cover the clauses of obtaining loans through false promises/documents and misusing the loan money. Now, one of the documents our man submitted to take a loan was something that valued the “Kingfisher” brand at $500 million. Safe to say, he is guilty of that one.
Point no 5 Mallya keeps saying how he wanted to settle the loan, but the govt didn’t allow because of Vendetta. Kingfisher went belly up in 2011. He fled in 2016. If he so wanted to settle, he could’ve paid at least one tranche of his owed money and then sat for negotiations
The fact that he didn’t pay a single paisa and forced the banks to attach his assets shows he had no intention to ever pay or settle. To summarize, Vijay Mallya can do everything to present himself as a holier-than-thou businessperson who was simply unlucky. The fact remains he intentionally ran away, intentionally avoided the law, intentionally refused to pay and intentionally avoided paying his dues. He thought nothing could happen to him. Which, sorry to say, makes him a criminal.
PS: In July 2022, the Supreme Court sentenced Vijay Mallya to four months in jail and imposed a fine of ₹2,000 for contempt of court because our man transferred $40 million dollars to his kids, in violation of court orders. $40 million translates to around Rs 350 crores. If he had the ability to transfer such a large sum of money to his kids by circumventing Indian law, he surely could have given some of it to his poor ex-employees.”
Mukul Prajapati, a Computer Science student, in his LinkedIn post wrote how “Mallya is a smart individual and clearly understands how PR works and how narratives can influence public perception.”
He further pointed out that one should not ignore facts that were confirmed during the investigation, including “Declared a willful defaulter by multiple Indian banks. Accused of fraud and money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI. Allegedly defaulted on loans worth over ₹9,000 crore, routed through shell companies. The UK High Court approved his extradition, affirming the case presented by Indian authorities.”
He also pointed out how the same thing happened with Harshad Mehta, where even though he was a great trader, “his strategies were groundbreaking, but they involved loopholes that led to real damage for many people. Intelligence and impact are admirable, but when ethics are compromised, consequences follow.”
Brand Consultant Jatin Saini also, in a LinkedIn post, wrote, “India’s biggest scams now premiere on podcasts. 3 days ago, I heard Vijay Mallya in an interview. I found him extremely…
- dramatic (blamed everyone but himself)
- delusional ($2M parties, jets and unpaid salaries)
- damaging (1.8 crore views and zero accountability)
- disturbing (selective memory, unchecked arrogance)
- dangerous (attempt to rewrite history in 4 hrs 19 mins)
18,466,700 views, 601,948 likes, 47,420 comments
Now, podcasts turn scandals into sympathy.”
Software Developer Garima Sangwan, in another LinkedIn post, wrote how “A calm, well-shot conversation where he shared his side of the story. Suddenly, the internet is divided. Some now call him ‘misunderstood.’ Others argue, ‘anyone in his place would’ve done the same.'”
She further talked about how algorithm-driven the current generation is, changing sides without thinking critically and verifying everything from one’s own side, writing how
- “If it doesn’t fit in a reel, we don’t care. Complex fraud case? Boring. Sad uncle story? Instantly hooked.
- Good suit + calm voice + confident tone = We believe you. Actual evidence? Who has time for that?
- We already think everything’s rigged. So when someone says “I was targeted,” we don’t question it – we relate to it.
- If our favourite YouTuber shows sympathy, we copy-paste their opinion.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Economist, Financial Express, The Economic Times
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