Siddharth Vijay Mallya is everywhere these days. At the IPL after-game party, in the stadium, in gossip columns, mingling with fans, giving away prizes. Being the son of Vijay Mallya helps, of course,as does being linked to one of Bollywood's hottest beauties - Deepika Padukone. Smooth, stylish Mallya Junior, inheritor of the world's third largest spirits marketer - the UB group - is now seen at all the right places. But who and what exactly is this 22-year-old in sleek gelled hair and funky shades? Most of those who know him say there is more to Siddharth than meets the eye - branded clothes and all. His head, they say, is firmly on his shoulder despite coming from one of the most affluent and powerful business families in the country.
People talk of how after an IPL party in Bangalore, the young man didn't wait for his plush BMW to ferry him to his next destination and instead hopped onto an autorickshaw, leaving the five-star hotel staff and guests shell-shocked. With just a few months left for a formal induction into his father's multi-crore United Breweries empire, Siddharth is focusing on little else at the moment other than IPL 3 and his team, RCB. And why not? He was only recently appointed director of Royal Challenge Sports, the arm that owns RCB.
Beyond this public image of Siddharth, not much is known about him. One wouldn't spot him on social networking sites or find information on him on the World Wide Web. That, however, doesn't stop virtually everyone who knows him vouching for the fact that he is a well-mannered and polite lad despite all that he is set to take over.
"The first thing that strikes you about him is his simplicity,'' says proud grandmother Ritu Mallya. "He does not flash his cash. He values money and is a careful spender. Even when he is out with his friends in England, he believes in splitting the bill."
Siddharth's business instinct,his friends say,was sharp even while at school."Those days,we had these little give-aways to promote our brands,'' Ritu Mallya recounts."Siddharth would take them to school back in England and proudly display them to his friends.That was his way of marketing.I feel proud of the fact that he is all set to join the family business. But he is not going to be happy about the salary his father has offered him."
After completing his graduation in England, he was presented to the world when Vijay Mallya launched Kingfisher Airlines on May 7,2005 - the day Siddharth turned 18.Siddharth then went on to join Diageo - the world's largest spirits firm - as a management trainee at its London office. That was probably the first step towards his eventual elevation in his father's spread of enterprises. "Having been exposed to business rather early in life,Siddharth has taken on his role really well. The sheer exposure probably made it easier for him.He has a mind of his own," explains Venkat Vardhan, MD of DNA Networks and a man who knows Siddharth well.
Last year Siddharth moved a step closer to assuming a greater role in United Spirits, the flagship Rs 5,700-crore firm of the UB Group, when he accepted a sales and marketing position at Scotland-based Whyte & Mackay, which United Spirits acquired for Rs 4,800 crore in 2007.
But if it is the Mallya scion one is talking about, someone is bound to throw up the obvious question - is the son as flamboyant as the father? "Not yet,'' says fashion designer Manoviraj Khosla. "But he is with the trends and is shaping up really well.He is not as flamboyant as his dad. His style is very subtle. I would like to describe him as a very intelligent, sensible and fun-loving boy." Fashion designer Prasad Bidappa, who has seen Siddharth grow, agrees with Khosla. "Vijay has brought him up so well and instilled in him the value of relationships. My son, Adam, and he are great friends."
For the all the responsibilities Siddharth has and is likely to add on, it is his personal life right now and questions regarding the relationship he shares with Deepika that is the topic everyone is most interested in. Is there a chemistry? Are they Page 3's hottest new item? Will they declare it soon or play hookey? Or - what a drag - is there nothing to it? No one knows and no one is saying. But during a recent match in Bangalore when the Royal Challengers were taking on Kings XI Punjab, Siddharth,who could not hold back his excitement, turned to Deepika and said, "You are my lucky mascot."
Lucky mascot, lucky boy.
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