Malavika’s Mumbaistan: Here’s Looking At You Dad

So this could turn out to be the one real silver lining in Vijay Mallya’s current sky of clouds. As is known, the beleaguered spirits and aviation tycoon is ensconced

So this could turn out to be the one real silver lining in Vijay Mallya’s current sky of clouds. As is known, the beleaguered spirits and aviation tycoon is ensconced in London as an economic refugee, fighting tooth and nail against extradition orders to India. India’s larger-than-life king of Good Times, a man who owned private jets which featured original Picassos and solid gold bathroom fittings, not to mention thoroughbreds, sports cars, mansions and yachts, could end up in cell at the Arthur Road jail. Think about the arc of his story, the sheer aesthetics of such a scenario, the highs and the lows, the expanse of such a tale, replete with glamorous women, mega stars, politicians, sports stars and cricketers. Now, think of his 32-year-old son Siddharth Mallya, already something of a media star after being selected as one of 20 to participate in the ABC Talent Showcase, a platform and training program for aspiring talents, a few years ago, and his YouTube show called Sid Sessions. The younger Mallya had made his feature film debut in the sex comedy film Brahman Naman after he’d announced (very wisely in hindsight) to turn his back on his father’s empire and instead aspire to make it as an actor in the international arena. Put the two together: his father’s incredible story and the son’s international film aspirations. What do you get? Priceless content and a more than perfect launchpad for an actor in an international digital series: The Life and Times of Vijay Mallya, from the horses’ lair den and the filly’s mouth, giving the tycoon’s side of the story and spin, offering hitherto unrevealed details and unlimited access to his lifestyle. A lady who met the senior Mallya in London recently, swears that the erstwhile beer baron himself informed her that his son Sid was working on such an international web series on his life. And guess who will be playing Mallya in the series? Why, his son Sid Mallya of course…
As we were saying, this could turn out to be the one silver lining in Vijay Mallya’s sky of clouds.

Vijay Mallya and Siddharth Mallya. (Getty Images)

Overheard
“Suddenly were there many more fathers, or I had missed something all these years?......wondering!”
- A sardonic post on a friend’s timeline commenting on the hallmarking of Father’s Day recently and its resultant outpouring on social media

Onwards And Upwards

Zorawar Kalra (File Photo)

It was a sad day for the Kalra family and the rest of India’s foodie community, earlier this month, when patriarch Jiggs Kalra passed away. His restaurateur son Zorawar is said to have taken charge and organised proceedings, even making sure that the food offered at the prayer meeting at the Gurdwara was up to the Kalra family standards, with Jigg’s – the author of the best seller Prasad – favorite jalebis offered to guests. But the father’s demise seems to have only spurred on his serial restaurateur son who has not one, but three new openings scheduled this week. We are informed that the group opened their second branch of Farzi cafe in Dubai on Monday, and next week will see the launch of a Farzi eatery in Oman. And if that is not all, Save The Dates have gone out for his next in Mumbai’s Lower Parel, which is described as a ‘youth-centric, and designed to appeal to Millennials’ space. Incidentally, according to its hyper ventilating PR, this means that ‘Every square inch is Instagrammable and it will possibly be the most Instagrammable restaurant in India. That said, the interiors are not gimmicky…’
The mind boggles.

More On The Girl Interrupted
Ten days ago on these pages, we’d picked up the first inklings of what has now turned in to a full blown PR crisis within the Roshan household, following daughter Sunaina Roshan’s alarming social media utterings. “The collateral damage of celebrity is perhaps heaviest on the family of stars, and compounded with the phenomena of letting it all hang out on social media, makes for a deadly cocktail,” we’d written, adding, “We hope (Sunaina Roshan’s) loved ones and responsible professionals intervene and save her from further distress and embarrassment”.
Having been in the profession for longer than we care to recount, we have a reporter’s nose for what is a media feeding frenzy bait story and knew that combined with what appears to be a dysfunctional star family undergoing a crisis, it would result in a circus. What will be the outcome of all this washing of dirty linen in public? It would help if responsible members of the media, and concerned individuals desist from adding fuel to this conflagration, given that it concerns people who are unwell currently. Though an embargo on reporting should not mean an embargo on investigating the story, of course. Incidentally, sensing where her initial social media posts would lead, we had titled last week’s item as ‘Girl Interrupted?’ Even then we’d known the question mark in the heading had been superfluous.