Vijay Mallya and the jet he owns have a lot in common. Boeing as a brand is pretty much what aviation is about. Mallya as a brand is what India Inc. is all about. It takes Boeing 10 months to build a large and trustworthy piece of machinery. That’s about how long it took Mallya to create the fundamentals of an equally strong and trustworthy political party.
The story of Dr Vijay Mallya cannot be told as a single, seamless, linear tale; the nature of the man prevents any such straitjacketing.
His story jumps countries, time zones, cars and careers. From Mallya, liquor baron to Dr Mallya, national working president, Janata Party. From soirees in South Africa to rallies in Raichur, the man is a complex network of thoughts and ideas all rolled into one massive brand.
To unravel these labyrinthine ideas, we thought it best to meet people associated with each individual strand of ideation before talking to the man himself.
Prakash Belawadi, filmmaker and a Mallya watcher of sorts thinks he has great recall value. “He’s certainly one of the largest brands that Bangalore can carry,” says Belawadi. “His heart is in the right place as far as the city and the state are concerned. He bought the Kunigal stud farm, a heritage site that was in trouble. He saved the Mangalore chemicals and fertilisers factory from financial ruin. He set up a research foundation dedicated to his father. I only feel, we should own him a little more than we do now and get him to do more for the city in a structured manner.”
Mallya has been working away at achieving this structured approach to the city’s development. Biocon chief and long time friend Kiran Mazumdar says his commitment to Bangalore dates back to the 80s. “In the late eighties, as head of UB, he built the best road in the city (Vittal Mallya Road), he founded the most modern hospital of its time (Mallya Hospital) and he co-founded The Mallya Aditi School as a centre of educational excellence. He has the vision and the capacity to replicate this on a much larger scale in Bangalore today. Vijay Mallya represents the new face of India Inc. He is driven by a political passion to create a 21st century India that is powered with a strong economic engine built on education and employment.”
This passion and energy is evident in all that he has done, from creating the seventh largest manufacturer of spirits in the world to tirelessly touring Karnataka’s hinterland as a politician.
He even carefully applies this energy to combat his greatest fear: failure. “That’s why he very rarely fails,” says his friend of 20 years, Jim Rydell, vice president, USA Labs, California. “His mind is very agile; he’s far sighted and has a great sense of marketing and branding. And his energy is never ending.”
While the energies come in handy, Mallya has had to give up the one thing he wishes he had more of. “His greatest sacrifice is time,” says his political secretary Tushita Patel. “And politics is a very steep learning curve.”
And Mallya has already made his first major jab at development in Bangalore. He is almost through with building a city within a city that will take a bow this year. UB City, spread over 1.2 million sq. ft, will be the largest single development in Karnataka and one of the largest in the country.
Projects such as these and his constant public appearances have put the political whispers in the air. There is talk, and not just in the corridors of Vidhana Soudha, that he could well be the future chief minister. What would his agenda for Bangalore be if he does occupy that exalted position? “I would shake up the bureaucrats and tell them to perform or quit,” says Mallya, ensconced in the quiet luxury of his Mercedes, amidst mini television screens, wireless communication systems and a fridge stocked with Kingfisher beer. “And then I will ensure Bangalore has a captive power supply either generated or acquired.”
His mission statement doesn’t end there. “I would press for immediate implementation of the decongestion programmes like flyovers, underground tunnels, public walkways both over and under the ground, set up crime watch neighbourhoods to give the police force a boost, widen roads wherever possible and introduce Singapore-style traffic management.”
He also wants to see to it that the once-whimsical Metro railway and the crucial Bangalore-Mysore Expressway are completed. Though these appear to be on the agenda of every chief minister that occupied the rooms of Krishna and Cauvery, Mallya’s Vision Bangalore is bolstered by that one element missing in most political agendas: action. “I have great respect for the government, but what can it do if it’s populated with non-performers? You need a team with a vision,” he says, as we pull to a stop after a 55-minute drive from Vittal Mallya Road to the Bangalore airport. When he speaks about his team, he’s almost the pater familias. “I could not devote all this time to politics if it weren’t for them. My team is almost handpicked. All this – the developmental work, the party, my business, my family – is what makes me happy.” But before he leaves, he has time for one last question. “What is my greatest happiness? That I have my own Boeing.”
(This piece appeared in City Reporter, the weekly tabloid of Explocity Private Ltd and can also be viewed on their website, explocity.com)