Ever since Hansal Mehta announced his next OTT series Billionaire with Arjun Rampal in the lead, speculation in industry circles has gone into an overdrive. The show, pitched as a gritty story of a powerful tycoon and his moral downfall, is already being linked to some of India’s most controversial business figures. While the makers insist the series is fictional, the parallels are hard to ignore.
The first name doing the rounds is Vijay Mallya. Known for his extravagant lifestyle, high-profile connections and dramatic fall from grace, Mallya’s story has all the elements of a gripping screen adaptation. Sources say Rampal’s suave persona could easily mirror the flamboyant liquor baron’s rise and fall. But there’s another strong contender, Lalit Modi. The former IPL chief, credited with revolutionising cricket entertainment before being engulfed in controversy, offers the kind of masala story that is bang for the buck entertainment. Industry insiders believe the series could lean into this world of power networks and boardroom battles.
Interestingly, those close to the production hint that “Billionaire” may allow them to borrow traits from multiple real-life figures to create a larger-than-life tycoon, which is a safer route and still keeps the intrigue alive. This wouldn’t be new territory for Mehta, who has previously blurred the line between fact and fiction with acclaimed real-life inspired dramas, most popularly with Scam series. For now, the makers are staying tight-lipped, and the platform has revealed little beyond the show’s core theme that goes from ambition, power and the cost of success.
But in Bollywood, where reality often inspires the most compelling stories, the guessing game has only just begun.
Is Rampal playing a fallen king like Mallya or a mastermind like Modi?
Either way, audiences are watching closely.
Directed by Hansal Mehta and Robbie Grewal, the series is written by Anubhav Chopra and Shantanu Sagara and produced by Prabhleen Sandhu under the banner Almighty Motion Picture. The announcement marks another addition to Amazon MX Player’s growing slate of original programming.