HIGH FLYER: (Top) Russi Mody in the south of France and as a student at Harrow

At an informal press conference in May 1993 in Jamshedpur, Ratan Tata made two statements as the new Tisco chief, which many saw as quite significant. The first was rather in a light vein that he would not stay in Jamshedpur, because it was like a prison. He would rather stay where the ocean is, that is, in Bombay. The second was that Tisco would not be affected by the exit of Russi Mody. And when asked for his reaction to Ratan’s statements, Russi had replied: “Ratan is quite right. No one is indispensable. My disappearance from Jamshedpur may not be felt, but the arrival of Ratan Tata and Dr Irani will certainly make a difference. It’s all like a circus — the serious acts of entertainment are always shown first. Then come the clowns and the animal trainers. That may well be the case in Tisco.”

Russi’s blatant sarcasm was a sign that he was smarting and it was beginning to show: “When I go to Jamshedpur, I tell them that I have gone into the textile business, to make saris, because I can give them to the Tisco management. They should all be wearing saris, not trousers.”

But behind the derision was also the indisputable fact that even after becoming the chairman and managing director, Russi didn’t shift his base to the (group’s) Bombay headquarters to run Tisco with remote control. He remained stationed in Jamshedpur and Calcutta. At Jamshedpur, Russi was larger than life, riding an elephant on his birthday and celebrating with a one-tonne laddoo, a 400-kg cake, dancing with tribal workers, and making irrepressibly witty public statements. When questioned on such extravagance, his answer would be as forthright. “I enjoy life in its totality. I work hard, I play hard. And I hide nothing through hypocrisy.”

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In November 1993, the battle took a new turn as Russi’s retirement package led to another squabble. The severance package that he wanted included the exclusive use of a flat in Calcutta (or alternative accommodation worth up to Rs 2 crore), a three-bedroom holiday home in Darjeeling, a flat on Delhi’s Prithviraj Road and a house in Sussex...

Again Russi saw himself as the victim, as he had stated, “How can they treat me like this after I have worked for them for 53 years? They promised me a package of benefits, and then they went back on their word.” He was fully aware that he was as much in a spin with all kinds of allegations being hurled at him… He reacted, “I have lived well, and fully enjoyed the perquisites of offices. Some would say to excess. But I have never made money for myself.” …

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Russi continues to claim, “These days, I live like a maharaja without a penny to my name. Let me put it this way. If I want to buy a swanky car tomorrow, I couldn’t have that kind of ready money. If you put all my assets together, with the shares I own, I am not even worth a couple of crores, for mostly those goods can’t be translated into cash. I promise you, I have no connection with money. I don’t appreciate money, I don’t depreciate money… Every time you talk of money you get into trouble. Many people criticised me for spending Rs 28 lakh on lighting up the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta, so that people could view it in the night too. But who gives a damn about what people say?”

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As for his retirement package, Russi had put up his list of what should be duly given to him in early March of 1993, at a meeting in Jamshedpur with JRD, Ratan Tata and (S.A.) Sabavala. Meanwhile, Russi had recorded this discussion in a note to JRD on March 31. The patriarch of Bombay House replied soon enough that the Sussex home could be provided only with the board’s permission since it involved foreign exchange, and medical facilities abroad were not possible. And added that they had readily accepted the living accommodation he wished to continue to avail of in India. But there was a rider that these retirement benefits would be placed before the Tisco board for its approval.

It was also said that Russi’s version of ensuing events was recorded in another letter to Ratan Tata, according to which the Tisco board met on April 13, and JRD called up Russi after the meeting to inform him that the board had agreed to the entire package of retirement benefits, with the exception of the Clayton Priory in Sussex. But around this time, Russi went public with the criticism of the Tatas and he was summarily removed by April 19. And it was Nani Palkhivala (whom Russi called ‘Naughty Palkhivala’), who intervened and argued that the board was not empowered to give Russi all the benefits he wanted and that the matter would have to be first approved by the company’s shareholders and by the government...

Meanwhile, in a letter to Russi in May 1993, Ratan Tata asked him to vacate all the company accommodation by 30th of September... Just as that deadline approached, Russi knocked the door of the court seeking justice.

Eventually, in April 1994, Russi agreed to deposit a sum of Rs 1.60 crore, as consideration money for the Belvedere Road bungalow, his current residence in Alipur area...