- 7 weeks ago
Mandhira Kapur Smith, sister of late Sona Comstar Chairperson Sunjay Kapur, has raised concerns over her family’s treatment by the automotive firm founded by their late father. She said her 80-year-old mother Rani Kapur has been sidelined, claiming the family has been treated “like strangers” and excluded from obituaries and public acknowledgments.
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00:00Good evening. It's been a time of grief and turmoil for the Kapoor family. Sanjay Kapoor,
00:14the man who helmed a 30,000 crore mobility tech giant, passed away suddenly in London this June.
00:21The coroner's report confirming natural causes. But even in mourning, the family finds itself
00:28battling another storm. A sudden death, a family feud, and a legacy at stake. Sanjay Kapoor is no
00:35more, but the battle over his empire is only beginning. Today, his sister, Mandira Kapoor,
00:43speaks out, and she joins me live here on India Today. Mandira, thank you for your time here.
00:49You have just lost a brother, yet you're also fighting a very public battle. How do you balance
00:58grief with the pressure of defending your family's dignity and rights? We've actually not been allowed
01:05to really grieve properly because we've gone into, during the 13 days of when we should be in mourning
01:12and really been, you know, able to do what we're meant to do. We've learned a lot of disturbing
01:18things have happened. A lot of disturbing news has come out. So we've not really been able to grieve.
01:22My mother's still confused. We are still confused about what happened, how it happened, and how
01:28over 13 days we've lost everything. Not only our brother, but everything. Everything my father
01:34worked for and built for my mother. Everything my brother carried forward. We've lost everything.
01:41And Mandira, you know, with your brother's sudden passing, a vacuum has opened at the top of a 30,000
01:49crore company. Do you believe there are vested interests trying to exploit this moment of
01:56vulnerability to wrest control of Sona Comsta?
02:01I think it's visible what is going on. I think it's visible that instead of letting the family
02:07grieve, everyone's worried about the money and all of that, everyone's forgotten the legacy,
02:11forgotten that my mother's still alive, forgotten that there is a family that exists with three women
02:16left alone. Just because we don't have any men left does not mean we are weak and does not mean
02:21that we get thrown out. That's what's happened, is we've been thrown out because we're three women
02:26left. But my mother is the one who stood behind my father when he built this company. We three
02:31children were a part of it. We're a part of this legacy. And today we have nothing left. And it seems
02:36that it's become more about the money, less about the family and the legacy because we're three women
02:41left. You know, you're, you know, you have also said that your family is facing attempts to take
02:50away what rightfully belongs to you. And you've just said that there are three women who are left
02:56in the family now. Who specifically are you referring to? And what is the nature of this challenge to your
03:03inheritance? It's not about my inheritance. It's about my mother who's alive. My mother who is the head of
03:09the family who is being treated as she's nothing. It's not about my inheritance. It's not about my
03:14sister's inheritance. It's about what my father did and wanted to achieve, which is my father left
03:20everything to my mother. My mother should have everything with her today while she's alive. She is
03:25the head of the family, but she's not even at the bottom. She's out. It's not about this is a whole thing.
03:31It's not an inheritance battle. It's a legacy battle. It's a battle of the fact that the founder is still
03:37alive and that needs to be respected. It needs to be respected that she is the one who created this
03:43company with her husband. And that's what the problem is. Everyone's forgetting the legacy,
03:48forgetting the fact that my mother's alive. 13 days, I entire, my dad's entire life, my mother's
03:54entire life, us as a family has been washed away. We've already had such a great loss of my brother.
04:00My mother is still understanding and trying to come to terms with it. But you're telling her to come
04:05to terms with not only her son going, first it's been dad, her son, and now everything that she
04:12worked for, her husband worked for, this family stands for, has gone. So, you know, her question is,
04:18how has this happened? Why is my son gone? How has anything happened? So it's baffling that the money
04:25is the only thing being seen. Inheritance is, it's, everyone's forgetting the real person here who's my mother.
04:30So you are standing by your 80-year-old mother. The question here is, Mandira, that how prepared
04:39is your family legally, financially, and emotionally to take this battle all the way if needed?
04:45We're broken emotionally. But I've sworn to make sure my mother is secure. I may not, she may not
04:52have a son. She has a son in me in whatever way she performs. Financially, we don't have anything.
04:58My mother has nothing. My sister and me are doing whatever we can. You know, we're lost,
05:04we're broken, and we still are going to fight for my dad's legacy. We're going to fight for this
05:09family. We're not going to let dad's hard work go down the drain. We're not going to have it happen.
05:14And I will be the son that's required to be now. I've been speaking to your lawyer,
05:19Gita Luthra, and you have plans in place. What exactly is this fighting for legacy going to be like?
05:30Honestly, I'm not going to see anything on that front. I think we're waiting to see if an olive
05:39branch is extended to us in a right manner. We've asked to see everything that has happened in the
05:4413 days. We're getting no answers. We want to know what my mother signed. We're getting no answers.
05:50So we're waiting and hoping, you know, something happens or, listen, we do what we have to to make
05:56sure this family stays and my dad's vision goes forward. And that I'm very clear about. We'll wait
06:03and see if an olive branch comes. If it doesn't, you know, we do what we have to.
06:07And the olive branch has to come from where? From, I guess, Sona, Comstar, the legacy,
06:13whoever's taken it, whoever's involved in this, whoever's involved in taking this away from us.
06:18I'm sure they know who they are because we don't. We have been kept in the dark about everything.
06:23We just know it's all gone. We're not getting answers to anything. When we send an email,
06:27we're told my mother's email account is compromised. So we're just being cut off on every front.
06:32So we want to know who they are. Who is this bunch of people who think it's okay to walk away
06:37with everything? Since you're not naming them, Sona Comstar, that was built by your father,
06:45but it was expanded by your late brother. And what really has been the role of the family
06:52in Sona Comstar, your mother, you and your sister? Let me be really clear. Sona was built by my father
07:00and my mother. Blackstone was brought in by a mandate by my father to say that when the other
07:08finance company leaves, they have to bring in someone who will not only invest and professionally
07:13run it, but will take it to IPO. Blackstone has done what they do, which is grow the company. Yes,
07:19my brother was leading my father's vision, but this would have happened no matter what. And I love my
07:24brother. And I know that be it him, be it me, or my sister was put there, the same thing would have
07:29happened. This was my father's vision. That's all that's happened. Yes, my brother was the face of
07:35the company. He led the legacy forward. That was his job as the son. But I don't know why claims are
07:42being made that the company was in financial challenges and all this. This is all rubbish.
07:47Look at the books. Look at the financial papers. Everyone will know there were no financial problems.
07:53Yes, Germany was in it, but that's a subsidiary. It had nothing to do with the India Company.
07:58So now trying to make claims that my brother did all this. Sona is the brand that my dad created.
08:04Blackstone invested in the brand who was my father. The Blackstone did what they do best,
08:09which is take companies to the next level to IPO. So yes, my brother was the face. My brother was
08:15everything. But it doesn't mean it goes away from the family. There should be no claim like that.
08:21Okay, Mandira, your mother has questioned the circumstances of her son's death. The coroner's
08:31report concludes that your brother died of natural causes. And they have given a reason as well. Why
08:39are you questioning it? And why is your family not ready to accept the findings of this report?
08:45I'll give you a very simple answer to this. Anyone out there who has someone who's very fit,
08:52who does tests all the time, and we've grown up doing it every six months, who's never had a heart
08:57problem, who we were first told was stung by a bee, and that's what we believed, has now had a cardiac
09:03arrest. Who would not question it? Where is there? There's no sign of a bee in the autopsy report, but we
09:08were all told he was stung by a bee. Then suddenly there's a cardiac arrest when he's never had any heart
09:14problems. And from what I know, he had a heart check, his heart check six, a couple of months
09:18ago, three, four months ago, and came back as 40% of one of the arteries blocked, which is not a big
09:25deal. So how has this happened? I mean, we do want answers. We want answers on how it has happened, because
09:31he didn't eat junk food. He didn't even eat ketchup, for God's sake. He didn't drink sodas. I mean,
09:36someone needs to explain to the three of us women, how have you guys come to this conclusion? Show
09:43it to us. Show us his medical history. Show me that he's not been tested for, what, a year, eight
09:48months. Show that to us. Tell my mother, convince my mother that her son has first not died of a bee,
09:55because that's what she believed, and was shattered about that. Then it's gone to a cardiac arrest, and we're
10:00just supposed to say, oh, okay, he's 53 fit. Yeah, okay, let's go with that. No, we're not going to. It's not that
10:05simple. So who will tell your mother? If the coroner has already put out a report, and your
10:13family is questioning it, you're not convinced with the findings, then how will you ask the UK
10:19government or UK investigators to go ahead with it? I think we're still discussing how we're going to,
10:26but maybe we need to see some medical history for my brother to show me that he had some, because
10:31what is shown is an enlarged heart, which does not happen overnight. So show me the last time he got
10:38his heart checked. Show us all this stuff. Let us be convinced that he died of this.
10:44Okay. Mandira, you were in a long legal battle with your brother over family matters, a case that
10:51eventually went against you. Looking back today, do you think that strained relationship has shaped the
10:58way people are now viewing your stand in this inheritance battle? Honestly, I really don't care,
11:06because that's between my brother and me. It is something which was made public because that's
11:10what people love. I think the way he pulled out, nobody knows. Nobody knows that he did close it with
11:16me. Whatever happened for whatever reasons is something I always thought my brother and me would
11:22sit down and discuss. We closed it very amicably. And I don't care what the world thinks. I know
11:27the relationship I had with my brother. I always thought we'd come back and be what we were. It's
11:33sad that this has been snatched away from me. And I let people judge. People judge all the time. It
11:40doesn't change the fact that we have had 40 plus years with an amazing relationship. And it's really sad
11:48that we've lost him. I've lost him. I never got to make up with him. And I don't believe for one
11:54second that we wouldn't have gone back to what we were. You wrote a very emotional post after your
12:01brother's death that for four years there was no communication. How did the relationship go so south?
12:10Because of the brand Sona. And that's when we started finding out about, I think it was 22, 23.
12:17Well, I started finding out about stuff. And I used to question my mother and she used to say,
12:22no, nothing, there's nothing there. There's not, you know, went back and forth only to find out that
12:28we were fighting about Sona, the brand which my dad created. And my, you know, the point is that
12:36I don't think that had we sat down and actually talked, we would have gone to the level we went.
12:43I think it was just, this is why I said it was egos. It was just both of us with an ego saying,
12:48let's see what he can do. Let's see what she can do, which started really badly. And it was the
12:52stupidest thing to have gone down because I think had we just sat down as adults and talked, and
12:57that's something my brother and me always had was an ego, but we'd always find a way to make up.
13:01It's just sad that we let it go on for so long. I don't think it was as deep as what it became
13:06had we nipped it in the bud. And that's what really hurts today.
13:09And what was your mother's reaction in those four years?
13:15She wasn't happy like no mother would be. We've been a very close knit family entire life.
13:20We never really fought. We never thought we'd be in court. I mean, for God's sake, it's unheard of.
13:26I think, I think that was the toughest thing for my mother to go through. And I feel bad that she
13:31went through that and our egos put her through that. And I think we both in our own way,
13:35you know, told mom that we would be okay. And we're never, I mean, I don't know what to say. It's just,
13:44it just, it's sad that we'll never be okay face to face. I know in our hearts we are, but we won't face to face.
13:50So yeah, your own company in the UK recently filed for bankruptcy. Critics, in fact, point to that while
14:01questioning your role in safeguarding the larger Kapoor business legacy. How will you respond to that?
14:06It didn't go through bankruptcy. It's called insolvency because I sold a stake of my company
14:11over here and we decided to close the subsidiary. Critics will say what they want. The reality is
14:17far from it. For me, my father and his legacy is way bigger than one insolvency. People, you know,
14:24do insolvency all the time. It's not like they don't. It doesn't bother me. I'm still, I'm innovating and
14:30I'm taking my father's name forward anyway. I'm innovating in the UK, in automotive. So this is
14:36not something, again, these are not things that are going to really affect me or scare me or whatever.
14:41I've done what I've had to, and I'm okay with it. And are you prepared for this kind of mud being
14:49thrown at you? Listen, when it comes to protecting my mother, I'll have anything thrown at me.
14:54I'll take it on. I don't care, but my mother doesn't deserve what she's getting. She just doesn't
14:59deserve this. She's been put on a pedestal her entire life. And now she is no one, but I'm going
15:04to keep that pedestal. I'm going to keep on that pedestal. And I will assure you, I'll take anything.
15:10Yes. You know, just a couple of more questions here, Mandira. At the time of the Sona Comstar IPO,
15:18you had approached SEBI. Why did you feel so strongly then? And how do you see that episode now in light
15:26of today's circumstances? I think there were many reasons about why I felt so strong,
15:32which I wouldn't like to discuss because they are not something I discussed with my brother.
15:36So I do want to discuss it today because he's not here. That was a personal thing between me and him.
15:41And I did. I know he knows why, but we never discussed it. So I wouldn't like to, in respect
15:47to him, discuss it. Okay. Yes, go ahead. No, no, you were saying go on. Yes. What do you want to say
15:54to those who, as you put it, have been harsh on your family and to the business world, which is watching
16:01this entire saga unfold? Put yourself in my mother's shoes, put yourself in my shoes and tell me if you're
16:08willing to lose what you've seen your entire life, your parents and you work towards and for. Are you willing
16:14to see a mother as a daughter? Are you willing to, is there no other daughter would stand up and fight
16:19for their mother? And is there no other son who would stand up and fight for their mother? Is anyone
16:24in any world willing to give up a legacy, which you've seen built in front of your eyes and always
16:30thought would go on and on and on and answer that question for me. And Mandira, did Rani Kapoor
16:39at any stage have a chat with her son regarding inheritance and how the company shares should be
16:48split and any will in place? No, we've come from a background where we knew very clearly everything
16:56was will to mum by dad. I think it was very clear that everything would be divided three ways.
17:03We never questioned it. We never had a doubt about it. We were, we all just trusted the process.
17:11There was some talk about something for the grandkids, which was supposed to be done, but
17:16there was no, this, this is not normal. This should, has not happened according to, you know, what we're
17:25seeing is a little, it's shocking. It's baffling. It's, it's hurting all of us. It's hurting my mum the most.
17:33So no, this is not something that they discussed or was going to be discussed because it was very
17:38clear with dad. When dad was alive, he was very clear about this, about everything is going to
17:43mum after that mum will divide everything one third. That was how it was. And that was only after she
17:49goes in a will. And so it was no, there was no reason to question it when we sat on the dining table
17:55and had this discussion with dad. When was that? I think it was the will, his will was done around
18:0312, 13. And we were all called and it was the three of us and dad and mum, it was five of us.
18:09And we were told very clearly that this is how it's going to work because he never wants mum to be,
18:16to suffer or to have to ask any of us for anything was what he said. He said, she is going to always
18:22be kept, how I keep her and she will always be the queen. And that was the, that was the clarity. And
18:30mum's mum was, dad was very clear. If something happened to mum, he would, you know, he's there and
18:34he would do the same. Everything would go after him one third. So there was no question of any of this happening.
18:42Mandira, there's also the other person in this mix that is of Karishma Kapoor's children.
18:51When you say grandchildren, does it also include her son and daughter?
18:57My father and mother have been obsessed with their grandchildren. Samaira and Kiana are always a
19:04part of this family and a big part of this family. We're very proud of them. We have a lot of love
19:09for them. I mean, dad used to dot on them, mum dotes on them. They are, they're a part of our family
19:16and they'll always be. I mean, there's no question about it. My brother doted on them. And now we have
19:22Azaris as well. Now there's seven grandkids. And have you spoken to them recently?
19:29Yeah, they come over. They've come and met mum. I mean, we're, we're all together.
19:35Um, the last question then, what will you tell everyone who's watching this?
19:42Again, just think about what's right and what's wrong and, and put yourself in our shoes and see
19:49what you would do. Are we, are we, are we really that wrong to say we want our legacy? We want to
19:54keep our legacy. How, why is, why is everyone thinking that because I had a fallout with my
19:59brother, this is about me. This is not about me. It's about my mum. It's about not coming to me.
20:04It's about everything going back to the rightful owner, who's my mother, who it was willed to,
20:08and it should stay that way. So really what I want to say is put yourself in my shoes and put yourself
20:14in my mother's shoes, put yourself in our family's shoes and see, are you okay with losing a legacy?
20:20You know, that's really it. All right, Mandira, really appreciate your time here
20:24on India today. And thank you for this conversation. Of course, there are several
20:28chapters that is going to unfold in this family saga, and we'll continue to track the story very,
20:33very closely. Thank you. Thanks so much for watching. Thanks.
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