Mallya

New Delhi, April 19: Vijay Mallya seems to have lost his appetite for song and dance after his Royal Challengers were humbled by Shah Rukh Khan’s Knight Riders.

The star-studded launch of the Royal Challengers’ music video, scheduled in Mumbai today, has been cancelled and no new date announced.

The official reason was the “unavailability of the players” — all the members of the Bangalore IPL team were to have attended the launch along with brand ambassador Katrina Kaif.

But a source said: “Mallya has decided to cancel the launch because he thinks a celebration at this point of time is uncalled for. He is very upset and feels that just after the dismal loss, the launch would put the players under intense scrutiny and they might have to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions from the media. He also fears that the brand, Royal Challengers, that he has pumped so much money into would suffer as a result.”

The liquor baron also owns a beer and whisky brand called Royal Challenge.

Sources said Mallya was so upset at his team’s 140-run loss that he spent most of the day cooped up in his office with the Royal Challengers discussing whether to go ahead with the launch later in the week or to scrap it altogether. In that case, the video might go on air without an official launch.

Mallya is expected to release a statement on Monday — much depends on the outcome of the Challengers’ second match tomorrow when they take on the Mumbai Indians in Mumbai.

He has spent $4 million (Rs 16 crore) on various marketing initiatives, including importing the Washington Redskins cheerleaders. In white boots, yellow spangled short shorts and bikini tops, they have invited the ire of Hindu activists and women who are planning to stage protests in places where the team plays.

Sources said the impending protests could be another reason for the cancellation of the launch.

The video, which has Katrina gyrating with 49 cheerleaders, might not go down well with the activists. It was shot by Sanjay Gupta, with music composed by Sanjay Chowta, in six hours on April 15 at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium. The director had already shot with Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis, apart from Mallya, a while ago.

But a victory tomorrow might be all the king of good times — as Mallya likes to describe himself — needs to get back in the mood for a good time, protests notwithstanding.