BENGALURU: IT was December 18, 2015 -- some 200 people from across India and the world had assembled in Goa. They were there to celebrate the 60th birthday of the King of Good Times. Keeping with his image, the guests were given rooms at the posh Taj Holiday village and Taj Fort Aguada and were invited to the massive Kingfisher Villa for a celebration unlike any other. One where, at the stroke of midnight, a burst of fireworks would light up the sky, making it sparkle for almost a full five minutes, mirroring the star-spangled assemblage below.
Those on the guest list included cinestars like Shilpa Shetty, Raveena Tandon, top models and reportedly even politicians like D.K. Shivakumar. The best party of the country had the guests cheering, but those who knew the birthday boy closely, perhaps cringing a bit inside as well.
“That night still gives me the goosebumps as he was celebrating so exorbitantly at a time when every business he owned was in danger,” said a close friend of the business tycoon. An associate, who thinks revealing his name would loosen the last thread of friendship their families share, said, “He was already in hot water, with banks declaring him a wilful defaulter. But he always loved a grand celebration and didn’t want to give up on that image.”
From the heights of flamboyance to the depths of despair, the one-time ‘King’ is now just one step away from languishing in a small cell at the Arthur Road Jail, with just a ceiling fan whose blades will whir to a stop whenever the lights go out. Alongside his business, Mallya’s image as some sort of self-appointed royalty has also taken a beating and those close to him attribute it to two mistakes: listening to a friend and entering the world of aviation; and, in his personal life, this last party that he threw, ill-advisedly, at the Kingfisher Villa.
For, his birthday bash did not go unnoticed. Raghuram Rajan, the then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said, without naming Mallya, “If you flaunt your birthday bashes while owing the system a lot of money, it does seem to the public that you don’t care. I think this is the wrong message to send. If you are in trouble, you should be cutting down your expenses.”
The irony was also dark enough for his employees, who had just read in the news about the imminent closure of Kingfisher Airlines and then, the next day, had to stare gloomily at stories of his bash that were splashed all over. “We sold our house, defaulted on loans, I lost my mother because I couldn’t afford surgery for her. I curse him each and every single day,” said Sandhya Dinesh, a former employee who now works as a teacher at a private school in Koramangala.
His former office staff saythat they had repeatedly cautioned him against such a party, even suggesting a foreign venue. But such was his nature that he wanted to be noticed.Well, that wish was granted. In the end, his favourite party spot was sold, just like his other properties. “(The villa) was a symbol of pride for Mallya, all his parties would happen there. Every friend, confidant and others had seen him at his best there. He was shattered when he had to sell it,” said a close friend.