Raj Shamani’s sensational podcast episode with Vijay Mallya is still being discussed nearly a week after it was dropped on YouTube.
Fugitive Vijay Mallya, who made brief appearances on the Internet during bank holidays, spent over four hours on popular YouTuber and entrepreneur Raj Shamani’s podcast to share his “side” of the story. The former owner of RCB, Kingfisher Airlines, and Force India F1 team, left India in March 2016 amidst allegations of financial irregularities and loan defaults. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that people wanted to hear from the horse’s mouth. He has been accused in a bank loan default case involving over Rs 9,000 crore. The 69-year-old liquor baron’s lengthy chat with Shamani garnered plenty of attention and has since been viewed over 22 million times in under a week. The runtime of the episode was a staggering 4 hours and 18 minutes.
From selecting a young Virat Kohli for Royal Challengers Bangalore to giving “Oo La La La Le O” jingle for his beer brand Kingfisher to apologising to his defunct airline employees, there was a lot discussed on the viral episode.
Naturally, the episode with Mallya went through the routine Internet cycle. Videos of the most interesting bits from the podcast were clipped and uploaded as YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. There were sad edits, memes, the usual.
However, the outcome of interviewing Mallya has put Shamani in the direct line of criticism.
Whitewashed His Image?
The public drew parallels with Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju (2018) which starred Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role, and portrayed the troubled life of Sanjay Dutt. While Hirani has gone on record and asserted that he made the movie to tell a compelling story, and not because of personal connections or to whitewash Dutt’s image, critics have disagreed with him for they believe the movie was an oversimplification of the Bollywood actor’s life and in doing so, the cinema made him appear like a victim. It could’ve been darker, more nuanced, and balanced, the critics and moviegoers remarked.
What did not sit well with the viewers of Mallya’s podcast was that the outcome made the fugitive appear as a victim living in the bad times. Shamani has, since then, faced criticism for giving Mallya the platform.
A scene outside Raj Shamani’s podcast studio: pic.twitter.com/Mu7S4X6lke
— Fakeer Aadmi (@aadmi_fakeer) June 8, 2025
Raj Shamani and Vijay Mallya pic.twitter.com/LXIS9eAkJ2
— Shayarcaster (@shayarcaster) June 7, 2025
Raj Shamani Podcast looks like pic.twitter.com/C0grjPFnDL
— SarcasmHit (@SarcasmHit) June 8, 2025
Lakh buraiya thi Raavan me but wo kabhi Raj Shamani k podcast pe nhi gya pic.twitter.com/boCht6sVTM
— Succinct (@ChanchalKamini) June 8, 2025
Sympathy Galore
A large number of YouTube comments lauded Shamani for doing what no TV channels or anchors could do. A calm, respectful chat with a guest without shouting at the highest decibel was a rare sight and a pleasant one for them.
But there were those too who sympathised with Mallya.
“Top 5 Lessons Learned from this Podcast
1. Don’t Judge a Story Without Hearing Both Sides
2. Media Trials Can Destroy Reputations
3. Silence Is Not a Sign of Guilt
4. Business Losses Aren’t Always Crimes
5. Truth Takes Time, But It Always Comes Out,” a comment under the podcast read.
“Bring him back. India needs such entrepreneurs. He has repaid double. Deserves Respect,” another read.
“As a banker with 38 years of experience I can say what he says is true,” a third added.
