Transcription
An Indian man who was once called the King of Good Times used to live the life of a Maharaja in his time. He used to party for crores of rupees in a single night, and where billionaires around the world have private jets, he had his own private Boeing 727. But today, his name is connected with the biggest fraud case in Indian history. Yes, we are talking about Vijay Mallya. Kingfisher was the name that made him the owner of everything that a common man dreams of, but in the end, what happened in the film industry that this name drowned him completely? Once again, flattered spectators in Jam TV videos.
Vijay Mallya was born in 1955 in a rich family, and since childhood, he saw only money in his life. His father, Vithal Mallya, had no shortage of money as he had control over most of India's liquor industry. He was the director and the biggest shareholder of United Breweries. Due to his business nature, he was not looked upon favorably across the country. He kept himself away from the media, and it is said that often, before running news against him, they used to give him money to stop it. Vijay Mallya was his only son. He lived the life of a king since his childhood, but his hobbies were different. He was very fond of cars since childhood. At a time when children in India used to play with tops and marbles, Vijay Mallya used to play with remote-controlled cars. Vithal Mallya never tried to take the silver spoon out of his mouth, and the result was that when Vijay grew up, his hobbies were also the same. Now he was fond of real cars and not toy cars. He had a collection of around 250 vintage cars and raised more than 200 horses just as a hobby. Vithal Mallya did not like this hobby of his because he believed that a person having such a hobby cannot become a good businessman. But the Maharaja's hobby was appreciated by Vithal Mallya; there was no value.
Vijay Mallya won the Indian Grand Prix award in 1982 and became the national champion by winning the trophy. He would have taken his hobby to the next level, but then an incident happened that changed the track of his life forever. Vithal Mallya's Vijay died suddenly due to a heart attack. He was 28 years old at that time, and this shock changed his life. At an age when he wanted to be more carefree, the responsibility of handling his father's business empire fell on his shoulders. At that time, many close people believed that since Vijay was used to the life of a king, he would not be able to run such a big business empire. But Vijay did exactly the opposite of what was thought. Out of all the products of United Breweries, Kingfisher attracted Vijay the most because after his father's death, Vijay had bought Kingfisher from his company. Vijay himself had launched it a few years before that. Because Vijay was a youngster at that time, he knew very well that if Kingfisher had to be made a hit in the market, then there was only one way, and that was to target youngsters.
Bangalore was the first city in India where the culture of pubs started, and the success of Kingfisher was hidden here. He introduced Kingfisher among the youngsters in various ways, where a good atmosphere was provided in the pubs, especially this trend was for girls. It was becoming quite viral that youngsters used to sit in pubs till 4 in the night. Bangalore, where there was only one pub earlier, opened 40 new pubs after 5 years, and Kingfisher was directly benefiting from this. Within a few years, Kingfisher took the form of a brand, and people now loved Kingfisher and not just beer. They started asking for a drink by taking Kingfisher's name. At that time, many Indian politicians also raised their voices against this western culture, but Vijay did not care about anyone; he just wanted to prove that he had taken the success of United Breweries to great heights. And there was no doubt that United Breweries had become the biggest liquor manufacturer in India, so much so that one out of every two bottles sold was of Kingfisher.
Vijay Mallya was living a kingly life at that time. His name was quite inspiring in India because, at a time when buying a normal car was not even a dream for people in India, it was no less than a nightmare for Mallya. Alcohol was banned in many parts of India. The sales of Kingfisher started falling rapidly, and the government in the banned states picked up a lot of bottles and started driving the road roller towards that side. This was a direct loss for Vijay Mallya, but this was just the beginning. After this, the Indian government tightened the noose around Vijay Mallya and created a new problem because even in the states where there was permission to sell liquor, now the advertisement of liquor had been banned on TV and in newspapers. This decision was taken at a time when Mallya was focusing on the growth of his business.
At this point, such a method of advertising Kingfisher was adopted, which is called surrogate advertising. This technique is used all over the world, especially for those products whose advertising is banned. In this, any brand markets its product in the market of other products whose sale is not restricted. Now Kingfisher is a well-known brand in India. That's why Vijay Mallya launched Kingfisher Mineral Water and Soda Water and started advertising them. Even though the ad was for water, everyone knew what it was marketing. Even when India was hosting the World Cup in 1996, Kingfisher took the help of a viral advertisement and reached his target audience. He was successful in making Kingfisher a national brand, a brand whose name was known to every second person. Vijay Mallya learned the art of targeting people of every age group. He started sponsoring every big or small event where there was media presence, and in this way, the name of Kingfisher got spread in the media even without wanting it.
Later, the Kingfisher Calendar was also launched, which had pictures of Indian models. Many big names of Bollywood were born through this calendar, including Deepika Padukone, who won the title of Calendar Girl in 2006, and her first movie was released in 2008. Similarly, names like Katrina Kaif and Nargis Fakhri also came into existence because of this calendar. Vijay Mallya himself used to choose the models for the Kingfisher Calendar, and this calendar started in 2003 and continued for the next 19 years. Mallya advertised the drinking culture in India to such an extent that it is very difficult to even imagine such a thing. There wasn't anything he did not have: wealth, fame, and above all, a brand that was no less than a hen laying golden eggs. He lacked only power, and he fulfilled that too by joining politics. He only disliked one thing, and that was the name he was given, which was related to his profession. Yes, the uncrowned king of alcohol or liquor baron. Deep inside, Mallya was feeling jealous that he was not looked upon with good eyes in India. Of course, everyone followed him around, but he also knew that all this was the magic of money. Vijay Mallya had to earn a name that would give him respect in society. That is why a dangerous plan was being made in his mind, a plan that would take away Vijay Mallya's title of King of Good Times.
In 2004, Vijay Mallya bought 12 Airbus A320s worth $204.4 million and announced the launch of a luxury airline called Kingfisher. He wanted to upgrade the flying experience of the common man. The airline's commercial said that he hires models instead of flight attendants. A grand event was organized for the grand launch of the airline, in which high-profile guests were invited from all over the country. Kingfisher Airlines was launched on his son's 18th birthday. This was a completely different kind of airline. Due to this launch event, the name of Kingfisher became famous all over the world, and it started emerging as a lifestyle brand. Vijay Mallya himself used to select everything from the airline's flight attendants to the food menu, and the uniform of these models became a famous fashion brand. This airline was designed by designer Manu Viraj Khosla and had neither A class nor economy class, but it was called a luxury airline because Vijay said that it has its own luxury class called Kingfisher class. There was no doubt that there was such luxury in the flight services provided that other airlines could not provide in this budget ticket. Kingfisher changed the airline industry in India very quickly.
Now slowly, Vijay Mallya's image of a liquor baron started changing because, apart from selling liquor, he also had other business ventures. There was also an airline. Vijay Mallya was spending money on the airline like water. One day, on the factory tour of Airbus, the sales team surrounded him and showed him such things that Mallya bought new planes worth $1 billion from them that day. The matter had now gone beyond the budget airline and started moving towards premium class, which was not actually the demand of the market because most of the travelers wanted to travel on a low budget. Earlier there was no class, but now A class was launched in which the best things started being served, like luxury seating, premium service, and food, which probably the majority of Indians had never eaten before, like lobsters, whose name passengers were often hearing for the first time. The operational cost of the airline increased considerably due to launching new classes and purchasing extra airbuses, more ground staff, and extra flight attendants. While there was no demand for luxury class, there was no significant impact on sales, due to which Kingfisher Airlines incurred a loss of 347 crores in the first 18 months. This was a small amount for Vijay, and even in this condition, he was able to make a living.
Kingfisher Airlines kept investing more money on the airline and used to operate domestic flights, and Vijay Mallya was in a hurry to launch international flights. But the problem was that no airline can launch international flights unless it has 5 years of experience in domestic flights. So he did it in a hurry. In 1999, he bought another airline by the name of Air Deccan. Firstly, the deal was done at a much higher price than the market price, and moreover, it was a loan amount that Vijay Mallya had taken from an Indian bank. His plan was simple: take the loan amount and buy the airline, invest in the company, and repay the loan on getting returns. It is a very simple thing to say, but in reality, it was a trap in which the biggest condition was to get returns. Anyway, Kingfisher had now become an international airline, and the passengers were also very happy, but inside, the airline got buried under debt very quickly.
While all these matters were going on, Vijay Mallya was buying a Formula One team. Apart from this, he also bought cricket teams, which was his hobby. He knew that his airline was in debt. Money had been invested, and then something happened which caused airlines not only in India but all over the world to get into trouble. In 2008, the American market went into recession, the stock market crashed, fuel prices went up, and the purchasing power of people went down. Whenever there is a recession, people put a rein on their expenses, and unnecessary travel is the first to get affected. Now, because the US Dollar is an international currency, this reason affects the whole world, and this time also the same thing happened: fuel prices increased three times, companies canceled their trips, and in this situation of fewer tourists, only those airlines can survive who do not spend extravagantly. But Kingfisher Airlines was famous for its extravagant expenses; they did not reduce their expenses even in recession. Their rates were cheaper than other airlines, and the prices were less in comparison to the company, and the services were very good. There was no doubt that Kingfisher Airlines was running in huge losses, and its secret was bound to come out someday or the other.
When the secret came out, it exposed new secrets as well. On 12th September 2011, a Canadian research firm published a report titled "Pea in the Sky." The report exposed the true colors of Kingfisher Airlines. In fact, the research firm had observed that at a time when all the airlines of the world were incurring losses, Kingfisher flights were providing excellent services to the people despite going empty. When they found the matter suspicious, they started investigating and found out that the expenses of Kingfisher Airlines were being paid by them. These expenses were more than the sales, and the report became more interesting when it was told that all these expenses were actually loan money which Kingfisher had taken from various banks. In October 2009, IDBI, a public sector bank, had given Kingfisher a loan of 200 million dollars. Now, normally when a bank gives a loan, it first makes sure that the person to whom the loan is being given will actually be able to repay the loan or not, for which they also keep a guarantee. But Vijay Mallya falsely told the bank, showing the documents, how he would get so much benefit in the coming time and return all this money. Now, because at that time Kingfisher and Vijay Mallya were big names, the bank passed this entire loan only on the basis of their name. That was a very irresponsible act.
In 2009 and 2010, the total expenses incurred by Kingfisher Airlines were either by taking loans or by taking services on credit, the figure of which was recorded as 7 billion dollars. This report by Very Tass revealed the entire situation and created a lot of panic in India because it was clearly written that Kingfisher was close to bankruptcy. After this report, Kingfisher stopped getting fuel on credit, and the situation reached a point where the catering service for the passengers was stopped. The airlines that used to provide the best food did not get their money for many months, and they also refused to give food again. This was a very difficult time for Kingfisher Airlines and Vijay Mallya. During this time, there was a shortage of food for the passengers on the flights, and on one occasion, the flight attendants even served their food to the passengers.
After this, the day came when the salaries of the staff of Kingfisher Airlines were also stopped. They were given hope that the company would soon recover the loss and pay salaries to everyone. In this way, six months passed, but no one got even a single rupee of salary. They did not even get money. The staff protested but got nothing except promises. The sad thing was that when all this was going on, 900 employees had not received their salary for six months. At the same time, Vijay Mallya was running a Formula One team and a cricket team. Of course, at that time Kingfisher Airlines did not have money, but Vijay Mallya had it, so there was no shortage in his luxurious lifestyle. When the employees of Kingfisher saw all this, their blood started boiling even more.
Meanwhile, Mumbai's Income Tax department started paying off the bills. The tax department seized the bank accounts of Kingfisher Airlines twice for non-payment of taxes. By early 2012, more than half of Kingfisher's flights were grounded, and it lost its title as the top Indian airline. In October 2012, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation suspended the license of Kingfisher, and this was the last day of Kingfisher Airlines. Vijay Mallya had taken a total loan of 9000 crores from 17 Indian banks. Most of this money was from public sector banks, i.e., it was the public's money. The loan was returned. On not getting the money, the banks filed a case against Vijay Mallya, in which it was said that Vijay Mallya is a willful defaulter, that is, he deliberately took a loan from the bank when he knew that his airline was sinking.
The CBI and Information Enforcement Directorate are investigating this whole case. The CBI also conducted an inquiry in which it was found that Vijay Mallya had taken the loan from the bank by showing fake documents, and the investigation also found evidence that the money which was taken to save Kingfisher Airlines was actually used by him for his own business, invested in personal luxuries and other businesses of UB. All these things were on one side; on the other hand, people's anger against Vijay Mallya increased when he celebrated his 68th birthday in Goa with great pomp even in these conditions, in which famous singer Enrique Iglesias was invited to this party. Excluding other expenses, Enrique's fee for attending the corporate event was only one and a half million dollars. That is, according to an estimate, he could have paid only 20% of the expenses of this party to at least his employees. He could have paid six months' salary, which was a big problem at that time.
When legal action was started against Vijay Mallya in India, he left India and went to the UK in 2016. Indian authorities canceled his passport and filed a case against him for extradition, sending a request to the UK government. The Indian government wanted to bring Mallya back so that his trial could be held in India. The extradition case went on for a long time in the UK courts, but in December 2018, the UK court decided that Vijay Mallya should be sent back to India, on which Mallya appealed against the decision of the UK court. On the other hand, insolvency cases were going on against Vijay Mallya in Indian courts, and its judgment had also come, under which an order was given to seize his properties. The Enforcement Directorate froze his Indian and international assets so that the banks could recover the money. Mallya's luxury cars, bungalows, and UB's company shares were put up for auction. Vijay Mallya tried several times to settle with the Indian court and the bank but failed. No success was achieved.
After the Kingfisher Airlines collaboration, Vijay Mallya's public image got tarnished, and he was criticized a lot by the media and people, especially because he was living a luxurious life in the UK while he was under pressure to repay his debts in India. Till now, Vijay Mallya's legal team is protecting him, but efforts are still on to bring him back to India. Hope you all will like and share this video of Zam TV. Thank you very much for your loving comments. See you next time in an awesome video.