Bad Boy Billionaires

“Bad Boy Billionaires tells three different stories, yet the commonalities among them are striking and several: the self-image of magnates, the vulnerability of victims, the mechanics of fraud, the convenience of corruption — the private gains, the public loss. Structured in the ascending order of crimes’ severity, the series unfolds like an upward-accelerating high-rise, widening simultaneously. The viewer navigates this piece like an acrophobic masochist on a hydraulic lift, experiencing both horror and delight… This docuseries comes at an opportune time, when the income inequality has reached stratospheric levels in many countries, prompting conversations about the true worth of billionaires.”

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“The series, by embracing the nature of a post-mortem documentary, also reveals a distinctly Indian trait. For decades, we as a people have suffered from a colonial-era inferiority complex. When Indian businesses or citizens do well in the West, we feel a sense of pride… When they make it, we don’t ask how. We want them – and by extension, ourselves – to turn the heads of the First World. We love when they appear in the “Planet’s Richest People” lists. At the back of our minds, we know it’s usually by crook over hook, we know it’s too good to be true – but we are too blinded by the sun to question its heat. In the process, we become responsible for their journey. For their damning urge to take India to the high streets. If anything, Bad Boy Billionaires: India refuses to separate the “I” from the rest of India. After all, a vulture is often the consequence of a culture.”

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