Mr. Gandhi,
do you intend to have complete prohibition in the new Indian State?
Oh, yes.
-Absolute prohibition? -Absolute.
People have very much accepted and appreciated prohibition
and they want more of it.
Vijay Mallya, known as "the liquor baron," the uncrowned "King of Alcohol".
Vijay Mallya, welcome to the studio.
Article 47 of the Indian Constitution says
that the State shall endeavor to promote prohibition.
I'm not forcing anyone to drink.
Advertising is banned,
and so you started Kingfisher Airlines to advertise in a surrogate way.
Because "Kingfisher" is the name of your beer, isn't it?
Are you telling me
that I spent 2,000 crores on an airline just to advertise my beer brand?
This way, you could promote your brand, right?
Because Kingfisher has brand recognition.
As a beer.
He's not paying his employees, and nobody is raising a voice.
If this happens in this country,
then what type of example is it going to set?
We protested and we demanded his arrest.
I had to manage and organize protests and manage media.
We were leading from the front.
Vijay Mallya sent us numerous mails and he said,
"Please don't talk to media. Give me ten days.
I swear in the name of God,
stand by me, you will be suitably rewarded"
and all that.
"I am trying to revive this airline,
and within ten days, I will clear all your dues."
That was the time when my wife became pregnant,
our savings were gone,
I slipped into depression,
so it was like a nightmare for us.
All his promises were empty, empty promises.
For him, $100 is peanuts.
But for us, it was our life.
One of our colleagues' wives committed suicide.
And in her suicide note, she clearly wrote,
"I am committing suicide
because Vijay Mallya has not paid my husband
for the last six months."
We thought, at that time,
"He will pacify us, he will pay our salary."
He's such a stone-hearted person that nothing,
there was no change in his attitude.
While we were starving, he was celebrating his birthday.
Mallya didn't show any consideration towards anyone.
For me, he's not a celebrity.
For me, he's like a thief, he's like any other criminal.
Look at the types of people that have taken money from the banks.
Now that I have started to tighten the screw,
they are starting to sweat.