Vijay Mallya on Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone’s Rise to Fame: “All the Top Actresses Featured in the Kingfisher Calendar”
In a recent conversation with entrepreneur and content creator Raj Shamani on his podcast Figuring Out, Vijay Mallya opened up about his decision to feature future Bollywood stars like Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone in the iconic Kingfisher calendar.
“We selected the right talent—whether it was Deepika or Katrina,” Mallya said. “All the top heroines and rising stars appeared in the calendar at a young age. It was a smart move.”
He emphasized that the initiative was a marketing strategy, not a personal endeavor. “It did wonders for the brand. Personally, it meant nothing to me. As for the speculation, my relationship with them was strictly professional—only through the calendar,” he clarified.
Mallya, currently fighting extradition from the UK over allegations of loan defaults exceeding ₹9,000 crore, also issued a rare apology for the failure of Kingfisher Airlines during the nearly four-hour-long discussion. He denied charges of theft and offered insights into his departure from India nearly a decade ago.
Touching on his involvement in cricket, Mallya recalled being approached by IPL founder Lalit Modi during the league’s inception. “He called me about the upcoming team auctions. I bid for three franchises and narrowly lost out on Mumbai,” Mallya said.
Eventually, he acquired Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), a team he envisioned as more than just a cricket franchise. “I wanted RCB to be bigger than a team—to be a brand,” he said. Mallya and his son Siddharth were frequently seen at RCB matches before his exit from India.
