‘Indian Matchmaking’ Season 2 returns to Netflix on Aug 12

‘Indian Matchmaking’ Season 2 returns to Netflix on Aug 12

by | Jul 13, 2022 | Entertainment

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Season 2 of “Indian Matchmaking,” starring Mumbai’s top matchmaker, Sima Taparia, is returning to Netflix. The eight-episode second season will premiere on Friday, Aug. 12.

Announcing the return date of Emmy-nominated dating show, Netflix said the first season of Indian Matchmaking was a meme just waiting to happen.

Taparia will again lead Indian Matchmaking’s new season as she helps singles around the world find their perfect partner through traditional and modern matchmaking techniques.

This season will take Sima from Mumbai to Durham, North Carolina, on her mission to pair up clients with their right match. “I was totally surprised by the response to the first season of Indian Matchmaking,” Taparia told Netflix.

“I’m overwhelmed by the love I’ve gotten and the appreciation for Indian culture and values. I know fans will love what’s coming in Season 2!”

Over the course of eight one-hour episodes, Taparia promises to help a group of single millennials (some who might look pretty familiar to fans of the show) manage more expectations on their journey to find their perfect match.

With wish lists ranging from man buns to an “ovo-lacto-semi-vegetarian” diet, to a shared love of Taco Bell, Taparia — once again — has her work cut out for her.

“Matchmaking is my passion, and it’s a joy to share my work with audiences around the world. Sima from Mumbai is back!” she told Variety.

Academy Award nominee Smriti Mundhra, creator and executive producer of the series, said, “The response to Season 1 of ‘Indian Matchmaking’ was overwhelming, and we’re thrilled to be back with more episodes that explore the rollercoaster of emotions and tough conversations on the journey to finding love.”

Aaron Saidman, Eli Holzman and J.C. Begley also serve as executive producers on the series, which was nominated for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program at the 2021 Emmys.

“Indian Matchmaking” is produced by the Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), a part of Sony Pictures TV. Season 1 dropped on Netflix in July 2020. It was nominated for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program at the 2021 Emmys.

Mundhra’s film, “St. Louis Superman,” was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary short in 2020 and won the Critics Choice Award for best short documentary.

Mundhra is the founder of Meralta Films, a Los Angeles and Mumbai-based production company focused on creating premium fiction and non-fiction content from culturally specific points of view.

Rihanna with a net worth of USD 1.4 billion becomes America’s youngest female self-made billionaire

Rihanna with a net worth of USD 1.4 billion becomes America’s youngest female self-made billionaire

by | Jul 6, 2022 | Entertainment

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Pop star Rihanna is the youngest self-made billionaire woman in the United States, as per Forbes 2022 list.

The 34-year-old singer recently made Forbes’ annual list of America’s richest self-made women for the third year in a row. Her net worth is now $1.4 billion. She ranked 21st overall and she is the only billionaire under 40 on the list.

According to CNBC, Rihanna amassed her fortune from her successful music career and entrepreneurial ventures – Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin and Savage X Fenty. Back in March, Bloomberg reported that Savage X Fenty lingerie company was working with advisors on an initial public offering that could value the firm at $3 billion or more. Rihanna owns 30% of that company.

Separately, the singer also owns half of Fenty Beauty, which reportedly generated $440 million in revenue in 2020.

In 2019, the nine-time Grammy Award winner told The New York Times’ T Magazine that because she never planned on making a fortune, reaching financial milestones was going to stop her from working. She also said that she wants to give the money away to causes that matter.

“My money is not for me; it’s always the thought that I can help someone else. The world can really make you believe that the wrong things are priority, and it makes you really miss the core of life, what it means to be alive,” Rihanna told the magazine, as per CNBC.

Meanwhile, after Rihanna, the next-youngest billionaire on Forbes’ list is 41-year-old Kim Kardashian, who has a net worth of $1.8 billion. Kim’s sister, Kylie Jenner also made it to the list with a net worth of $600 million. 75-year-old Diane Hendricks topped the Forbes list with a net worth of $12.2 billion.

An Indian restaurant called “Chai Pani” is voted best in US

An Indian restaurant called “Chai Pani” is voted best in US

by | Jun 15, 2022 | Entertainment, Indian-American

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Chai Pani, which serves affordable Indian street food in North Carolina, is the best restaurant in America.

The Asheville eatery was named America’s most Outstanding Restaurant at the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago on Monday, topping nominees such as Brennan’s in New Orleans.

It was the first time the honors were awarded in two years, after being canceled in 2020 and 2021 so the foundation could remove systemic bias and as lockdowns to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus forced the temporary closure of many US restaurants.

The awards also come as Americans are paying the highest prices for food in four decades amid surging inflation that is threatening the broader economy.

This year’s award recipients and the nominee slate were more diverse to better reflect the makeup of the US. There was also more geographic variety, rather than years past when many winners came out of New York or Chicago.

The menu at Chai Pani, whose name literally translates to tea and water, features Indian snacks called “chaat” that are known for a mix of spicy, sweet and tangy flavors. Other winners included the Native American restaurant Owamni in Minneapolis, where the staff is 75% indigenous, as Best New Restaurant.

Outstanding Baker was Don Guerra at Barrio Bread in Tucson, Arizona, where he uses ancient grains that have seeds adapted to grow in the desert.

Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah, Georgia, was named Outstanding Chef. Chris Bianco of Tratto, Pane Bianco and Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix was named Outstanding Restaurateur.

Dawn Padmore, vice president of awards, said the foundation did a “deep dive” on itself during its hiatus.

“Looking at the audience and seeing so many different people, it feels different,” she said. “It’s about reflecting the true diversity of the industry.”

See the full list of winners below.

Outstanding Restaurant: Chai Pani, Asheville, North Carolina

Outstanding Chef: Mashama Bailey, The Grey, Savannah, Georgia

Best New Restaurant: Owamni, Minneapolis

Outstanding Restaurateur: Chris Bianco, Tratto, Pane Bianco and Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix

Emerging Chef: Edgar Rico, Nixta Taqueria, Austin, Texas

Outstanding Baker: Don Guerra, Barrio Bread, Tucson, Arizona

Outstanding Pastry Chef: Warda Bouguettaya, Warda Pâtisserie in Detroit

Outstanding Wine Program: The Four Horsemen, New York

Outstanding Bar Program: Julep, Houston

Outstanding Hospitality: Cúrate, Asheville, North Carolina

Best Chefs

Best Chef: California

Brandon Jew, Mister Jiu’s, San Francisco

Best Chef: Southwest

Fernando Olea, Sazón, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Best Chef: Midwest

Dave Baldwin, The Diplomat, Milwaukee

Best Chef: Mountain

Caroline Glover, Annette, Aurora, Colorado

Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific

Robynne Maii, Fête, Honolulu

Best Chef: Texas

Iliana de la Vega, El Naranjo, Austin, Texas

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic

Cristina Martinez, South Philly Barbacoa, Philadelphia

Best Chef: New York State

Chintan Pandya, Dhamaka, New York

Best Chef: South

dam Evans, Automatic Seafood and Oysters, Birmingham, Alabama

Best Chef: Southeast

Ricky Moore, SALTBOX Seafood Joint, Durham, North Carolina

Best Chef: Northeast

Nisachon Morgan, Saap, Randolph, Vermont

Best Chef: Great Lakes

Erick Williams, Virtue Restaurant & Bar, Chicago

How Indian-American rapper Raja Kumari is taking charge

How Indian-American rapper Raja Kumari is taking charge

by | Jun 10, 2022 | Entertainment

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Svetha Rao, better known as Raja Kumari, had had enough. For seven years, the Indian-American rapper, singer, recording artist and Grammy-nominated songwriter had been dealing with the whims of record labels.

“There was a string of men between me and the music,” she says. “And so many opinions. I had one label head tell me that Indian girls don’t rap.

Another said they’ll increase the budget for a music video if I don’t wear a bindi!” Screw this, she said, and started Godmother, her own label.

Johnny Depp spends ₹ 48 lakh at Indian restaurant in Birmingham to celebrate Amber Heard trial win

Johnny Depp spends ₹ 48 lakh at Indian restaurant in Birmingham to celebrate Amber Heard trial win

by | Jun 8, 2022 | Entertainment, Uncategorized

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Actor Johnny Depp, who just won his highly-publicised defamation claim against ex-wife Amber Heard, spent more than $62,000 (Rs 48.1 lakh) on a special celebratory curry dinner with his friends, New York Post said in a report. The celebratory dinner was organised in Birmingham, England, on Sunday evening, the Post further said.

The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star was recently awarded $15 million by a court in Fairfax, Virginia, last Wednesday in the defamation case against Ms Heard.

Mr Depp, 58, indulged with “authentic Indian cuisine,” cocktails, and rose Champagne at the Varanasi, billed as “Birmingham’s largest Indian restaurant”.

After his security team checked the city centre facility, which can seat 400 people at a time, to ensure it was secure and that his privacy could be maintained, he hugged and spoke to the staff.

“We had a call out of the blue on Sunday afternoon saying that Johnny Depp wanted to come to eat with a group of people,” Mohammed Hussain, operations director of Varanasi, told the Post.

“I was shocked, and at first, I thought it might have been a joke. But then his security team arrived and checked out the restaurant, and we let them have the whole place because we were concerned that he might be bothered by other diners,” Mr Hussain added.

Mr Depp stayed there for around three hours and met the manager’s friends and family, then left with a takeaway bag, metro.co.uk reported.

The star was declared a “down-to-earth bloke” by the restaurant staff, according to the Post report. The “Edward Scissorhands” star was hanging out with musician friend and guitarist Jeff Beck, 77, and 20 other people.

Mr Depp has been in the United Kingdom since before the verdict and also performed along with Beck.

Indian-American women launch digital platform ‘We Must Meet’ to screen movies, host events

Indian-American women launch digital platform ‘We Must Meet’ to screen movies, host events

by | May 9, 2022 | Entertainment, Indian-American

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Former US President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign advisor Kimberly Guilfoyle has announced her association with a new digital platform ‘We Must Meet’, launched by a group of women of Indian heritage.

The technology initiative is said to be the first video conference platform that can also act as an OTT platform, where filmmakers from Hollywood and Indian Cinema can screen their own cinematic content.

Guilfoyle will be the brand ambassador and strategic advisor to the project as well as a stakeholder in the project, said founder Manju Mason.

Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancee Guilfoyle has joined forces with a group of women entrepreneur friends who are of Indian heritage. Founder Pooja A Patil says that the unique aspect of their latest offering ‘We Must Meet’ is that it can live stream political events, Town Halls, sports events and concerts, which can be accessed by up to 30,000 people at the same time.

Sharing her excitement, 21-year-old founder Founder Ish Patil, said, “Today the majority of top Bollywood and Hollywood film-makers are making content for OTT, exclusively for online screening. India’s OTT market is fastest-growing, and has the potential to become largest in the world.”

Founder Manju Mason also stated: “This is the only video conferencing platform that transcends the border of regular video conference towards screening of Bollywood and Hollywood online movies.”

‘We Must Meet’ content will comprise international as well as regional projects. It will be driven by an annual subscription model and is being launched in India and globally.

Elaborating on the platform, Manju Mason, who has conceptualized ‘We Must Meet’, added, “The software has been entirely developed in the United States and is community-based. It will change the way people will meet and host business meetings.”

‘We Must Meet’ is powered and managed by technology company Iotum, said tech coordinator R. Manji.

‘We Must Meet’ will connect students and learners to their curriculum and training from anywhere in the world via browser-based remote learning, said Pooja A Patil an educationist, who also overseas at numerous education institutions under the brand of Ajeenkya D.Y Patil University.

The company’s financial analyst K. Patel announced that ‘We Must Meet’ is soon going to launch Theme Parks, Boutique Hotels, resorts and restaurants under the same brand. (ANI)