In a video that could easily double as a trailer for a dark comedy, former IPL boss Lalit Modi and businessman Vijay Mallya were seen laughing, chatting, and casually calling themselves India’s “biggest fugitives” at what appeared to be a cheerful birthday gathering in London. The internet reacted with shock, anger, sarcasm and a question that keeps returning like a bad ringtone: is anyone in power even listening?
The short clip, posted online by Lalit Modi, shows the two smiling for the camera as if they were promoting a luxury holiday package, not people wanted by Indian authorities. In the video, Modi jokingly refers to both of them as India’s “top fugitives,” sounding almost proud of the title. The caption too had the familiar tone of someone trying very hard to go viral inviting viewers to feel jealous while he “breaks the internet.”
And yes, the internet did break.. but mostly into disbelief. 
Users posted comments that were less amused and more annoyed. Many felt the two had turned India’s legal system into a punchline. One person simply wrote that the duo had made the government look helpless. Another bluntly said that the two were laughing not just at social media users, but at law-enforcement agencies as well.
Some people questioned how two men facing serious investigations could freely throw a party abroad and then share the highlights online. Others noted that the silence from official quarters seemed louder than the music at the birthday celebration. A few users also added that this was the perfect clip to describe inequality not economic, but legal.
Meanwhile, back in India, the courts continued their work. The Bombay High Court reportedly asked Vijay Mallya when he planned to return and reminded his legal team that his petitions challenging his fugitive status would be difficult to entertain unless he came back and submitted himself before the court.
But while the courts spoke, the public kept asking a simpler question, why does the story always feel the same? Someone leaves. Someone is declared a fugitive. A few years pass. A video appears from somewhere in Europe. And then nothing much happens, except hashtags.
Vijay Mallya left India in 2016 amid allegations of unpaid loans and money laundering. He was later officially declared a Fugitive Economic Offender. Lalit Modi moved out in 2010 after facing multiple financial investigation charges related to the IPL. Both deny wrongdoing, but neither shows great hurry to return. And now, in 2025, we have reached the stage of celebratory self-referencing where the accused not only acknowledge the label, but laugh about it on camera.
The satire here almost writes itself. India chases. Courts summon. Agencies file documents. The accused host parties.
The Indian government, as usual, maintains its favourite response: a calm, steady, unmoving silence. No shouting. No press drama. Just a peaceful pause.. long enough for videos to trend, opinion pages to fill, and memes to multiply.
On social media, people joked that perhaps this was India’s new long-distance relationship model with fugitives: no contact, no closure, but lots of online updates. Others suggested that the fugitives seemed more relaxed than most taxpayers.
It would be hilarious, if it were not also a little sad.
Because behind the jokes are real questions. Questions about accountability. About fairness. About whether some people live by different rules. And about why those rules look even more flexible once someone has boarded a flight out of the country.
For now, the two men continue their lives abroad. The courts continue their hearings. The public continues its outrage. And the government continues… well, to continue.
