Subrata Roy passes away at 75
He is one of Netflix’s ‘Bad boy billionaires’. Netizens are now calling him the ‘Pride of Lucknow’ as they condole the death of Sahara head, Subrata Roy. The once famous businessman is probably best known for the illegal deposit mobilisation scam that led him to Tihar jail. In his heydays as a business conglomerate, Roy created a Sahara cult of employees as well as depositors. He added Sri to his company and took it up as a name to become Saharasri. He also invented a Sahara Pranam that was emulated by all his employees.
Nov 15, 2023
Where from, where to
Roy was born to a newly independent India, in 1948, to a couple who came to India from Dhaka. The young man started his career collecting deposits on a scooter and soon built a financial empire. He ventured fast and deep into new sectors with breakneck speed.
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Air to land
Roy was also one of the first to enter the airline business with Sahara Airlines which was later sold to Jet Airways. Roy built Amby Valley, a luxurious resort near Mumbai. He also went abroad with his ambitions – by purchasing the iconic Grosvenor House in London to Plaza Hotel in New York. Both of which were later sold off to cover his payments to Indian regulators. Roy’s business empire ranged from media to travel. He also produced movies – most of them helmed by Ram Gopal Verma like Darna Zaroori Hai, and a few hits like Anees Bazme’s No Entry.
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Measure of man
At the height of his achievements, his successes were measured in national terms. As per Time Magazine, the group was the second largest employer in 2004, after Indian Railways. At the height of good times, it had over 9 crore depositors — that’s 13% of the Indian households. Ostentatiously, Roy also incorporated Indian tricolour into the logo of his empire that once spanned from airlines to real estate to the flagship financial institution.
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A Shahar called home
Roy lived in style. For one his home is named Sahara Shahar — shahar means city and the house is made of white marble. A city is a better way to describe the home as it’s known to have artificial lakes, a real theatre (not a home theatre), auditoriums — it’s own petrol stations and luggage scanners for those who enter it. It also had statues of freedom fighters. He also owned an IPL team by the name Pune Warriors, and Force India Formula One team. He also had a badminton team named Awadhe Warriors – representing the home team where he is based in Lucknow.
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Friends with money
Who stayed at his home? Roy had a year-long guest — the now deceased Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh who stayed in the city-home when his life was threatened. Not just politicians, Roy also claimed to have helped superstar Amitabh Bacchan, calls Shah Rukh Khan ‘bhai’. He is also known to be influenced by ‘the lady with the lamp’ of Calcutta, Mother Teresa. He also says that any chief minister of Lucknow was his friend, and used to regularly meet former CM Kalyan Singh, in an India Today article.
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The plans that weren’t
After his troubles began, Roy abandoned many of his grand plans. One of them included starting an edtech venture Edunguru – which targeted India’s small towns and villages. Even after spending two years in jail, and getting out on bail in 2016, he had planned a venture to get into electric vehicles. He is survived by his wife, Swapna Roy and his sons Sushanto and Seemanto.
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