India, March 8 -- A Bengaluru-based startup founder has sparked a discussion online after publicly asking fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya if he could rent the iconic penthouse at Kingfisher Towers for a birthday celebration.

Taking to X, Priyam Raj, founder of VidAI, shared an unusual request addressed to Mallya. "Dear @TheVijayMallya I'm a founder from Bangalore having my birthday on March 23rd. I want to throw a birthday party the city hasn't seen in a while and bring back the good times, Bangalore needs that energy back," he wrote.

Raj added that he was serious about the request and willing to pay for the venue. "Can I rent Kingfisher Villa for one night? Dead serious. Will pay. Name your price. Or point me to whoever owns it now,"...