A toxic trend: A look at Vijay Mallya claiming credit for Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif

Dubai: I’m not here to decide if Vijay Mallya is a guilty man who defrauded Indian banks. That’s for the courts. But what I can do is call out the discomforting elements of his recent four-hour podcast that’s being hailed as a “glorious rehabilitation.”

Among many things that rattled me—his casual deflection of responsibility, the cinematic retelling of his jet-set fall from grace—what stood out most was his attempt to stake credit for the success of women such as Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone. It was subtle, but unmistakably smug: the kind of name-dropping that doesn’t just reek of vanity but a disturbing sense of ownership over someone else’s accomplishments.

Let’s be clear. Deepika Padukone is a self-made powerhouse who’s earned her place among the top echelons of Bollywood. Her success has been forged through relentless hard work, not calendar shoots and modeling gig alone. In an earlier interview with me while promoting her film Gehraiyaan, Padukone had talked about her Bollywood hustle as a rank outsider with no powerful Godfathers in the industry.

“I have not realised it’s been 15 years because I am constantly pushing myself as a person and as a performer. I keep asking myself about how I can be better than I was yesterday … My best is yet to come.”

Her journey from an uncertain newcomer in Om Shanti Om to leading nuanced films like Gehraiyaan is entirely her own. Mallya’s insinuation that he somehow ‘spotted’ or ‘shaped’ her trajectory grossly undermines her agency.

Similarly Katrina Kaif, often underestimated because of her glamorous image or outsider status, is one of the hardest-working dancers and actresses in the industry. From acing complex choreography to holding her own in action-heavy roles, her success isn’t entirely accidental. If anyone can claim a fraction of credit, it’s perhaps Salman Khan — the star who introduced her to the inner circle. But even he can’t take away the years of hustle she’s put in.

Ironically, the podcast’s tone meant to showcase Vijay Mallya as a misunderstood entrepreneur stood in stark contrast. Instead of real introspection, Mallya offered a neatly packaged PR narrative—one where even the women who’ve outgrown him are reduced to glittery footnotes in his grandiose tale.

“All our choices that we make in our lives stem from our past experiences and circumstances,” Padukone added thoughtfully, referring to her film’s characters. That quote, meant for fictional characters navigating love and betrayal in her film, applies more fittingly to Mallya than he might realise—minus the accountability.

It’s time we stop romanticising the powerful man’s comeback arc, especially when it leans on the borrowed brilliance of women. Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif are not jewels in anyone’s crown. They are women who have carved empires in an industry that hasn’t always been kind.

So no, Mr. Mallya, you don’t get to co-opt their success. You don’t get to gloss over a decade of legal deflection with casual credit-claiming and glory grabby. And you certainly don’t get to name-drop your way into relevance on the backs of women who’ve long outpaced you.