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Within the coronary heart of Tashkent, a metropolis recognized for its wealthy historical past, stands an Indian restaurant celebrating the legacy of legendary Bollywood actor Raj Kapoor and the love of the Uzbeks for him even 35 years after his dying.
Styled on the Bollywood theme, the ‘Raaj Kapur’ restaurant which is without doubt one of the three main Indian eating places in Tashkent, just isn’t new however at the very least 16 years outdated and is a success amongst not solely Indian vacationers but in addition locals for its lip-smacking dishes.
Three superstars from the Kapoor household — Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor — have additionally dined on the restaurant on totally different events.
“Individuals in Uzbekistan are loopy about Bollywood and generations of individuals from Uzbekistan and Russia – even the younger – are conscious of Raj Kapoor and his cinema and regard him as Bollywood’s numero uno. The restaurant attracts extra crowd for its title and fewer for Indian meals, which most guests uncover after having fun with a meal,” Sameer Khan, Resident supervisor, Raaj Kapur restaurant instructed PTI.
Housed within the Le Grande Resort in Tashkent, the restaurant is a particular stopover for vacationer teams from India and is widespread for its Bollywood nights the place Uzbeks additionally groove on high chartbusters from the 90s.
Whereas Khan, who’s initially from Mumbai, manages the property, the thought of the restaurant was first conceptualised by Jay Al Atas, an Indonesian who fell in love with Indian meals throughout a go to to the nation and was additionally impressed with the craze for Raj Kapoor in Russia and Uzbekistan.
“Loads of Indian vacationer teams come right here regularly whereas Uzbeks benefit from the meals on events and in addition love clicking footage right here. Each time a Bollywood celeb from India comes right here, there’s a bustling crowd,” he added.
The restaurant can also be the official caterer for almost all of Indian events–be it the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s go to or ones like a latest Bollywood night time which noticed performances by Daler Mehandi and Ravi Kishan.
5 cooks from totally different components of India are behind the variety-loaded menu on the restaurant.
“We provide all types of delicacies which might be accessible in India. Our bestselling dishes are butter rooster, biryani, cheese naan and dosa,” stated chef Kalamuddin Sheikh who hails from Orissa.
A wall within the restaurant boasts of the famend individuals who have visited the restaurant be it politicians like Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh or Bollywood celebrities like Mithun Chakraborty, Shibani Kashyap, Daler Mehandi, Gulshan Grover, amongst others.
“We’ve got positioned signed sketches of the celebrities from India who’ve visited us. The restaurant is a giant hit right here,” Sohail Khan, High quality Supervisor on the restaurant instructed PTI.
Born on December 14, 1924 to Prithviraj Kapoor in Peshawar (now Pakistan), Kapoor made his official appearing debut with the 1947 movie “Neel Kamal” and went on to turn out to be “the best showman of Indian cinema”. He made a mark as an actor with movies like “Shree 420”, “Awaara” and “Barsaat”.
On the age of 24, Kapoor grew to become the youngest filmmaker of his time when he made his directorial debut with “Aag” (1948) that includes himself alongside Nargis, Kamini Kaushal and Premnath.
Kapoor was well-known for his Charlie Chaplin-esque type of appearing, which garnered consideration not solely from the Indian viewers but in addition made him a fan-favourite in Russia.
Kapoor died of issues associated to bronchial asthma on June 2, 1988 on the age of 63 in New Delhi.
This story has been printed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content. Solely the headline has been modified.