Bad Boy Billionaires: India is a four-part Netflix documentary series on Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Subrata Roy and Ramalinga Raju. Three episodes released in October 2020. The fourth, on Satyam founder Raju, was blocked by a court for over five years and finally released on 31 December 2025.
This review looks at what the series does well, where it falls short, the legal fight that followed it, and what has happened to the four businessmen since. All case details are drawn from court reports and established news outlets.
What the series is about
The series traces how four Indian tycoons built huge public images and then faced accusations of fraud, loan default or misleading investors. Each episode runs close to an hour and uses news footage, interviews with former employees, journalists and investigators, and archival material.
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It was directed by Dylan Mohan Gray, Nick Read and Johanna Hamilton. It was originally due on 2 September 2020, but legal challenges delayed it.
The legal battle
Before release, petitions were filed in several courts. A Bihar district court issued an interim stay on a petition linked to Subrata Roy, and a Hyderabad civil court stayed the release on 1 September 2020 after Raju argued the series presented half-truths and could hurt his right to a fair trial. The Supreme Court declined Netflix’s plea against the stay.
Netflix released three episodes on 5 October 2020, leaving out the Raju episode. That episode, titled “Riding the Tiger”, stayed blocked until a Hyderabad City Civil Court vacated the injunction at the end of December 2025. According to Siasat, Netflix’s lawyers argued the film relied on public records, and the court accepted this. The episode went live on 31 December 2025.
Episode by episode
“The King of Good Times”: Vijay Mallya
The first episode follows Mallya’s rise as head of United Breweries and Kingfisher, his lavish public image, and the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines, which stopped flying in 2012. Banks led by State Bank of India later sought to recover large loans given to the airline.
The episode is the most polished of the series and the most detailed on the airline’s money problems, though it offers little on how banks kept lending.
“Diamonds Aren’t Forever”: Nirav Modi
This episode covers the jeweller’s global brand, his celebrity clients and the Punjab National Bank fraud case, in which he and others are accused of using fraudulent bank guarantees. It explains the case clearly for viewers new to it.
“The World’s Biggest Family”: Subrata Roy
The third episode looks at Sahara India Pariwar, its huge base of small depositors and its long dispute with market regulator SEBI over refunds. It shows how Roy built loyalty among employees and investors who called him “Saharashri”.
“Riding the Tiger”: Ramalinga Raju
The final episode covers Satyam Computer Services, once one of India’s top IT firms, and Raju’s 2009 confession that he had inflated the company’s accounts. Estimated losses ran to about $1.5 billion. A special court in Hyderabad sentenced him to seven years in prison in 2015.
Review: strengths and weaknesses
The series is easy to follow and useful as a primer on four of India’s best known corporate scandals. It was India’s most-watched Netflix title for several weeks in 2020 and won Best Nonfiction Original at the 2021 Filmfare OTT Awards.
Its main weakness is depth. Much of the material was already public, and critics at The Hindu and Scroll noted that it mostly repeats news reports. It spends little time on the regulators, banks and auditors whose failures allowed these collapses, and it rarely gives viewers a new angle. Our rating: worth a watch for background, but do not expect fresh revelations.
Where the four cases stand in 2026
| Person | Latest verified status |
|---|---|
| Vijay Mallya | Living in the UK; extradition order not yet carried out; lost UK bankruptcy appeal in April 2025 |
| Nirav Modi | Held in London since March 2019; final European court challenge rejected, UK began transfer steps (July 2026 reports) |
| Subrata Roy | Died in November 2023 |
| Ramalinga Raju | Convicted in 2015 in the Satyam case; episode on him released December 2025 |
Vijay Mallya: He left India in March 2016. His last formal appeal against extradition in the UK failed in 2020, but the order has not been carried out because of what the UK called a confidential legal matter. In July 2022, the Supreme Court sentenced him to four months in jail in a contempt case. In 2026, the Bombay High Court gave him a final chance to appear in his fugitive economic offender case, a deadline he missed.
Nirav Modi: He has been held at HMP Wandsworth in London since March 2019. Business Today reported in July 2026 that the European Court of Human Rights rejected his final challenge and that the UK had begun steps to transfer him to India.
Subrata Roy: He died in Mumbai in November 2023. The refund of Sahara investors’ money continues through processes overseen by SEBI and the government.
For more reviews, see our Entertainment section, and for money matters, visit Finance.
Further reading: Telegram.
Frequently asked questions
How many episodes does Bad Boy Billionaires: India have?
Four. Episodes on Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Subrata Roy released on 5 October 2020, and the Ramalinga Raju episode released on 31 December 2025.
Why was the Ramalinga Raju episode delayed?
A Hyderabad civil court stayed it in September 2020 after Raju argued it could harm his right to a fair trial. The court vacated the stay in December 2025.
Is Bad Boy Billionaires worth watching?
Yes, as an introduction to these cases. Viewers who follow business news closely may find little that is new.
Where can I watch Bad Boy Billionaires?
All four episodes stream on Netflix.
Sources: Wikipedia: Bad Boy Billionaires: India, Siasat on the Hyderabad court ruling, Business Today on Nirav Modi’s extradition, Wikipedia: Vijay Mallya.
