Entertainment and food, undeniably go hand in hand. It’s even more evident with the number of Tollywood celebrities now venturing into the food business!
Several celebrities from T-town have been announcing interesting food ventures — for instance, Sundeep Kishan, who recently started the restaurant, ‘Vivaha Bojanambu’. Or, Nithiin and Neeraja Kona’s jointly launched ‘T-Grill’ not so long ago, or even ‘Junior Kuppanna’, started by Manchu Lakshmi and her husband. It certainly seems like the food and restaurant business among the Tollywood fraternity is proving to be quite profitable.
It all began a few years back, when Nagarjuna launched his restaurant. While his joint served International cuisines, the latest entrants seem to be concentrating more on traditional Indian food.
“It’s something new and we have always been interested in the food business. We wanted to give it a try. It’s doing very well,” says Manchu Lakshmi. About several other celebrities taking to this business, she says, “I don’t know whether it’s a trend, but I feel it’s a good thing.”
She adds that while in the USA, she had access to all types of cuisines, except Andhra food. “When I visited USA, I could get Gujarati, Punjabi, Bangla, Maharashtrian and Kashmir food, but couldn’t access our traditional fare. I wanted to start something that will get our traditional food across to many people. Junior Kuppanna is a traditional style restaurant, and it took me to a year to convince them to give us the franchises for both the states,” says Manchu Lakshmi. She added that they have created an ambience where people can feel at home. “We use leaf-plates and we prepare the dishes only after the order is made,” she explains.
Sundeep Kishan says, “Telugu people like two things: One, cinema and the other is food. That’s why I thought of the food business and the reason I picked traditional food is to cater to families. Most families prefer to eat traditional fare.” He added that the interiors have old film portraits, and Bapu’s sketches on the menu card.
Tollywood fashion designer, Neeraja Kona joined hands with actor Nithiin to launch T-Grill, in Kavuri Hills. “It’s a tricky business as nine out of 10 restaurants close down. However, if things go well, it’s a profitable venture. When Nithiin and I decided on this business, we trusted the food and we loved it. I have been thinking about the food business since some time now. When I discussed with Nithiin, he readily agreed. That’s how we started the restaurant at Jubilee Hills,” says Neeraja Kona.
Neeraja adds that they chose to go in for Telangana food because of their love for the traditional. “People are more comfortable with traditional food. When they come back from a trip or a tour, they crave for traditional tastes,” says Neeraja.
There are several others from T’wood in the restaurant and food business, who are doing well. Actors like Sharwanand, Subba Raju, Navdeep, and Shashank, own restaurants, coffee house and pubs, while director Kuchipudi Venkat runs the traditional, ‘Ulavacharu Biryani’.
He has even opened three more branches in the USA, where he is currently looking after the business. Popular writer Kona Venkat, who liked his venture, started the same along with Kuchipudi at his place, Bapatla.
“People enjoy watching our films as also the food. I love the food at ‘Ulavacharu Biryani’, so I started the same at Bapatla with Venkat. It's a small town, where the locals prefer only traditional food,” says Kona Venkat. Interestingly, these celebs have also managed to rope in well-trained chefs for their restaurants.
