I'm coming back to India: Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay

Agencies
July 28, 2019

New Delhi, Jul 28: Gordon Ramsay will soon be touring India and the celebrity chef says he is looking forward to his visit.

"The good news is I'm coming back to India, and I can't wait," Ramsay told news agency.

The British chef-restaurateur, who has earlier been to the country on culinary adventures, said his love for the Indian subcontinental cuisine dates back to his childhood.

"We lived in a council house in the middle of Birmingham in the Midlands growing up and my parents' landlord was from Pakistan, and so I fell in love with not just the Indian/Pakistani cuisine then, so my ambition was always to travel to India to understand.

"From the north to the south, even 50 km from the Burmese border, Nagaland, again completely off-pieced and understanding what it was like with those communities in the depth of that jungle, and cooking incredible food," Ramsay said in a select roundtable interaction from Los Angeles over phone.

But the highlight, he said, has been Kerala.

"It's the land of the spice, and the fragrance. I didn't think vegetarian cuisine could be that good in an ashram cooking with 55-60 women, preparing the most amazing meals," he added.

The world-renowned chef will feature in summer culinary adventure series "Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted", which premieres on July 29 at 10 pm, on National Geographic and Hotstar.

As the name goes, the show will see Ramsay treading the road less travelled -- from Peru, Laos and Morocco to Hawaii, Alaska and New Zealand which will keep him on his toes as he explores valleys, oceans, forests and mountains while tasting culinary brilliance.

But even before "Uncharted" aired, many compared the upcoming show's format with that of late chef-travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain's.

It was during his 2010 UK series for Channel 4, "Gordon's Great Escapes," that he came to India and Southeast Asia to taste both food and adventure.

Ramsay said he would never go on to "copy" anyone in the field, let alone, Bourdain, who was a great friend.

"Tony was a great friend of mine, and we shared many a time across the table with a glass of wine, and such a tragic loss. I would never, ever attempt to copy anybody in their profession."

The chef admitted it unsettled him when the series came under "a little bit of flack" as it was announced a year ago.

"Back in 2004 I started my journey from visiting Cambodia, the most amazing Southeastern Asian islands, Vietnam, and then spending three months in India from north to south, and a week in an ashram in Kerala, and understanding how to perfect vegetarian cuisine, and so I was more upset with people criticising Uncharted' without having seen it," he said.

"Now that the programme's out and clearly been successful and rated very well, I'm at peace now, because it's good for them to see there's no comparison. It's completely different," he added.

He said, as a person, he doesn't like things all mapped out for him and the series put him in unknown waters, which was a new high.

" It's me doing what I do best, an adventure with food, understanding cultures, and from becoming an amazing prolific chef, to becoming a teacher, to becoming a pupil, stripped of everything I know, and putting myself into that area of their expertise, for me was a dream come true."

Sharing one of his takeaways from the show, Ramsay said "Uncharted" was about diving into unknown secrets without being touristy and "embedding myself in that community" and from a chef's point of view, it was about "getting close to the source".

"I've spent the last two decades with the most amazing ingredients arriving on my doorstep, so to turn that in reverse and to go to the source. We also have that responsibility as a chef for sustainability, and I think I've always been a big advocate with seasonality, and some of these ingredients that I came across in many countries, they stay there, and well done for that.

"I've tasted ingredients across this programme that I've never tasted before. The high altitude fruit farm, tiny farm in the mountains of Peru, the intense flavour was extraordinary. We'll never get to buy that ingredient in London. It was so nice to see new ingredients tasting incredibly different to what we're used to from a chef's point of view," he said.

The multi- Michelin-star chef also revealed a second season of the show is in the works and he is excited about it.

"We're now planning countries as far as Tasmania, Indonesia, Jamaica, South Africa, and again, places that are incredibly culturally laced with some of the most exciting cuisines ever," he added.

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News Network
July 1,2020

Los Angeles, Jul 1: Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas has struck a two-year television deal with Amazon. The 37-year-old actor shared the news about her "multimillion-dollar" first look deal with the streamer in a post on Instagram.

"So honoured and excited to finally share this news with you. Looking ahead, we already have so much on our slate! Big thank you to @jsalke and her team at Amazon for being such great partners, and for sharing in the belief that talent and good content knows no boundaries," Priyanka wrote.

The actor, who launched her own production banner Purple Pebble Pictures in 2015, said she aims to create "great content" featuring "creative talent" from all over the world.

"This has always been the DNA of my production house Purple Pebble Pictures, and is the foundation of this exciting new endeavour with Amazon. ⁣⁣

"And as a storyteller, my quest is to constantly push myself to explore new ideas that not only entertain but most importantly, open minds and perspectives," Priyanka said.

She thanked her fans for being a "big part of my journey so far".

"And for those who are just getting to know me, or maybe only recognise me as Alex Parrish from 'Quantico', I'm excited for you to get to know me better," Priyanka concluded.

Priyanka, who started her Hollywood career with ABC series Quantico, has featured in films such as Baywatch and Isn't It Romantic.

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke told Variety that she bonded with the actor over their "shared passion for diverse global storytelling".

"Priyanka is drawn to exciting original content and characters that can resonate globally. She’s a powerhouse producer, and we are thrilled to collaborate with her for years to come," she added.

Prior to her deal with Amazon, the actor lined up two projects with the streamer. She will star opposite Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden in upcoming thriller series Citadel, to be produced by Anthony and Joe Russo.

The actor will also feature in Sangeet, an unscripted series co-produced with her husband, Nick Jonas.

Priyanka's another project with Amazon is a film about Ma Anand Sheela, the assistant to guru Bhagwan Rajneesh (also known as Osho). The actor will be producing the movie which is based on Netflix docu-series Wild Wild Country.

Besides her association with Amazon, the actor will next star in two Netflix projects -- superhero movie We Can Be Heroes and The White Tiger,  opposite Rajkummar Rao.

She is currently shooting for Keanu Reeves-starrer The Matrix 4, which recently resumed filming after production was halted by the pandemic.

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News Network
July 17,2020

Mumbai, Jul 17: After helping scores of stranded migrant labourers return to their native places amidst the coronavirus pandemic, actor Sonu Sood has now extended a helping hand towards the coronavirus warriors as he donated 25,000 face shields to Maharashtra Police personnel.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday took to Twitter to thank the Bollywood actor for his "generous contribution" to help the Police personnel who have been working tirelessly amid the testing times.

"I thank Sonu Sood Ji for your generous contribution of giving 25,000 #FaceShields for our police personnel," tweeted Deshmukh.
Responding to the Home Minister, Sood said, "Truly honoured by your kind words Sir! My police brothers and sisters are our real heroes and this is the least that I can do for the commendable work which they have been doing. Jai Hind."

The 46-year-old actor who is known for his roles in films like 'Singh is Kinng,' 'Simmba', and 'Happy New Year' has been hailed all over the media for arranging hassle-free passage of migrant labourers to their respective homes.

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News Network
June 6,2020

New Delhi, Jun 6: Actor Ayushmann Khurrana took the internet by storm as he posted a picture of himself in the dark 'Joker' avatar on Saturday.

Artist Swapnil Pawar transformed Khurrana into the 'Joker' through his artwork which the actor posted on his Instagram.

"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it ... I'm an Agent of Chaos!" Khurrana quoted a famous dialogue from the film 'Joker' in the caption.

The 35-year-old actor, who hasn't played an outright negative role in his career further revealed his fascination for negative characters in the caption.

"Sinister, menacing, evil, cold, conniving yet brilliant, genius - have always thought of playing a negative character like Joker. Thank you @swapnilmpawar for reading my mind and this incredible artwork!" he wrote.

Khurrana believes that though it is good to portray different roles and he would love to play a negative character but the message at the end should be positive.

"I will be happy to play a negative character. I would love to play a morally corrupt person. That will be out of my realm. But the message, at the end of the day, should be positive. I don't want to endorse wrongdoings on screen," he said.

The new look of the 'Article 15' actor won hearts as the post was flooded with scores of comments from his fans.

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