And after 4 hours of listening… I had a strange, uncomfortable feeling.
Not sympathy.
Not rage.
But a gut-punching realization:
We really don’t wait for the courts anymore.
We just switch on the news and hold our own public execution.
Because let’s be honest..nothing fuels TRPs like a villain.
Especially if he wears designer suits and sips champagne.
But Mallya made a solid point: If I took money to run a business, and the business failed, does that make me a criminal?
Companies fail every day. Airlines shut down every year.
But when it’s a flamboyant billionaire with a yacht, the nation wants blood.
And this isn’t just about Mallya.
Previously too, we’ve turned trial-by-media into a national sport:
- Rhea Chakraborty: Turned into a witch because we needed a scapegoat for our collective grief.
- Aryan Khan: Arrested without possession, but who cares? He’s SRK’s son, so that must mean something, right?
- Johnny Depp: Cancelled by headlines. Resurrected by the courtroom.
What’s scarier is how easily we buy into the script.
Facts? Boring.
Nuance? Too complicated.
Give us outrage. Give us a villain. Give us a show.
I’m not saying everyone’s innocent.
I’m saying justice isn’t served best with background music and a screaming panel at 9 PM.
The media has made us impatient. Impulsive.
We consume real people like content.
And then we scroll to the next scandal.
I believe if we want truth.. we have to stop settling for the most dramatic version of it. Because justice isn’t entertainment and people aren’t episodes.
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