Bollywood Tinge in Mallya Row

Call it a twist of irony

As a high voltage political drama unfolds over who "patronized" fugitive offender Vijay Mallya, the liquor baron whose Bollywood connections and controversies are well-known, has now triggered a political slugfest between BJP and Congress, who find it just irresistible to detach the filmi funda from his saga as they mount offensives on each other.

Congress social media team released a video “Bharashtachari Bromance” to attack BJP leaders who allegedly colluded with Mallya as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is embroiled in a controversy over having met the liquor baron before he left the country.

The video plays in the background the famous Bollywood number from the nineties “first-time dekha tumhe hum kho gaya, second time me love ho gaya... ye akkha India jaanta hai hum tumpe marta hai. (I lost myself when I saw you the first time, fell in love with you second time. Entire India knows that I love you).

As the song from a 1992 Hindi movie “Jaan Tere Naam” sung by Kumar Sanu plays out in the background, BJP leaders including Jaitley are shown with Mallya. Other money laundering accused Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi have also been featured. Congress, which has been attempting to put the Modi government on mat linking these accused with his regime, has tweeted this video with remarks “BJP’s affinity with fraudsters continues.”

Not to be left behind, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, who launched a blistering attack on Congress President Rahul Gandhi and family members over Mallya episode alleging that
the family was helping Mallya with sweet deals when UPA was in power, referred to another Hindi blockbuster of Bobby Deol-starrer “Chor Machaye Shor”, a Bollywood action comedy of 2002. There is an also a Hindi movie of 1974 “Chor Machaye Shor” in which Shashi Kapoor is the lead character.

Patra alleged that those who were beneficiaries of patronizing Mallya are now making noises and it is a case of Chor Machaye Shor.

Sometimes it seems the airlines wasn't owned by Mallya but by Gandhi family in the proxy,” said Patra. As the blame game continued through four back-to-back press conferences within five hours on Thursday by BJP and Congress addressed by their top leaders Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Rahul Gandhi respectively, AICC Communication Department Chief Randeep Singh Surjewala, too could not resist the temptation.

“There is a new movie in town- ‘Jab We Met, Part-2. In this picture, Vijay Mallya after looting Rs 9000 crore rupees meets Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on March 1, 2016, and runs away from the country on March 2 with 36 suitcases.”

Jab We Met is a romantic comedy made in 2007 starring Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor. So far, no sequel of the movie has been made by the film producers and director but Congress has already come out with a political plot for Jab We Met 2.

Well as politicos fight over patronage to Mallya, the latter, whose kiss videos with many Bollywood actresses are viral on social media, must be amused at his new connect with Hindi films discovered by politicians.