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He
truly lives life king-size! He's unapologetically
flamboyant, extremely stylish and always
dynamic! He ruled on land and now rules
the skies! Karan's first guest this week
is the king of good times - Dr. Vijay Mallya!
His second guest is a successful columnist,
author and social commentator. You could
call her opinionated… you could call her
judgmental, but she never fails to air her
views and that's why everyone loves her-
Shobhaa De! Watch them in a very exciting
episode, this Sunday, 1st April at 9 pm
on Star One and Star World on Koffee
with Karan!
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Dr. Vijay Mallya talks about his flamboyant
lifestyle, his showmanship, his legacy and
his foray into politics. He discusses with
Karan how he feels about the current state
of politics and what changes he would like
to see in the system. Together, Dr. Mallya
and Shobhaa discuss their friendship which
is around 25 years old and has seen itsshare
of ups and downs. They talk about their
social lives and how they feel about being
permanent faces on Page 3. They express
their views on actors being politicians
and politicians being actors …and also give
their point of view on the current state
of journalism and how they feel that the
media needs a sense of responsibility. Dr.
Mallya talks about the fact that he doesn't
watch too many Hindi movies and Shobhaa
admits that she has to catch the latest
flick every Friday!!!
After the candid question-answer session,
the show takes another interesting turn
with the rapid fire round! Which Hindi film
does Shobhaa wish she would have written?
Who does she think is the perfect celeb
wife and who does she think is the most
mismatched couple? Which living business
icon does Dr. Mallya admire the most? If
there was a film on his life, which actor
does he feel would be able to play him best
and who would he like his leading lady to
be? Who wins the most desired possession
on the show - the coffee hamper! Find out
on this Sunday's episode of Koffee with
Karan…
Excerpts from the interview:
Karan:
Your persona, the man you are… I mean most
people who are industrialists and are in
the business world have a certain image.
You are not on of those serious industrialists
who have that serious look on their face.
Your whole perception is so different… Flamboyant…
How do you react to that?
Dr. Mallya:
Well you know at the end of the day I have
to repeat… I have lived life on my own terms.
I've not been shy I've not tried to hide
anything. I'm totally transparent I am what
I am and there's nothing wrong with that.
I don't need to have a split personality
I don't need to be a hypocrite. I just be
myself. And as far as the showmanship is
concerned... I am the brand ambassador of
my brand which are on the lifestyle platforms
so what's wrong with that?
Karan:
No there's nothing wrong with that. I think
you love the fact that you are like this.
But you have this party image. At times
do you find yourself defending that to people
who expect you to be more serious?
Dr. Mallya:
You know seriousness is not a guarantee
to success. If you don't have a party or
you're more subdued it's not a recipe for
increased stakeholder value. But you know.
If I like to party I don't party alone,
I party with people and as I said… it's
all on that lifestyle platform which is
becoming increasingly relevant in aspirational
India today.
Karan:
Your foray into politics a few years back..
what drove you to politics?
Dr. Mallya:
You know when I was 40... I thought
I've come a long way in my life. I've had
my fair share of success and also failures
but I've never looked back I've always treated
my failures as stepping stones to success.
I've made mistakes but the net balance sheet
was pretty good. So I said what do I do
now? Should I give back something to my
country, to my state and how do I do it.
It's very clear that in India you don't
have a voice that's heard adequately unless
you're sitting in the parliament. And so
I decided to run for parliament. In 2000
I failed miserably and invited a lot of
criticism that has become synonymous to
Vijay Mallya but in 2002 I defeated the
city BJP candidate and got elected to parliament.
I was most excited. Even though in the last
3-4 years I've been a backbencher… I've
always tried to speak up about the accountability
in governance.
Karan:
How does it feel to be back on the show?
Shobhaa:
Actually wonderful! The kind of response
I'd got the first time round all over the
world where there are Indians and Pakistani's
and people monitoring Indian television
it was always "we saw you on Koffee
with Karan!", so it says a lot about
the host, a lot about the show and maybe
a little about me!
Karan:
Alright, I like that! You've known Vijay
for how long Shobhaa?
Shobhaa:
Around 25 years! I think!
Karan:
It's been a good friendship?
Shobhaa:
It's been an interesting friendship! It's
had its ups and downs but it's never been
a boring or a static friendship! Which I
think is what keeps a relationship on its
toes and it makes sure you don't take each
other for granted.
Dr. Mallya:
Absolutely! But I remember only the ups!
Not the downs!
Shobhaa:
Selective memory!
Dr. Mallya:
(Laughs)
Karan:
"The Queen of Opinions" … is that
a good way of describing you Shobhaa?
Shobhaa:
It's not bad! Empress might be better! But
he has a copyright on that already!
Dr. Mallya:
No! I can say that to you!
Shobhaa:
His super super yacht is called the Indian
Empress and I've happily stolen it for myself
for tonight!
So, don't forget to tune in as Karan catches
up with Dr. Vijay Mallya and Shobhaa De
on Koffee with Karan this Sunday, April
1st on Star One and Star World, at 9 pm.
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By THE TELLY
CHAKKAR TEAM |
Posted
on 30 March 2007
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