Latest news with #Patang
News18
11-08-2025
- Business
- News18
Patang Launches Across India, Bringing Authentic Regional Indian Flavours Back
BusinessWire India New Delhi [India], August 11: It begins with smoke. Not the synthetic haze of a factory floor, but the comforting curl rising from a blackened kadhai in Kolhapur. A mother drops puffed rice into simmering oil, adding fiery masala with the flair only years of instinct can give. A state away, in the coastal gullies of Thoothukudi, a boy races on his bicycle–his handlebar sack swinging with the weight of freshly-roasted pepper cashews. No branding. No preservatives. Just flavour, passed hand to decades, this was how India snacked. Until it wasn' Problem: When Our Snacks Forgot Where They Came FromAt some point, taste took a once-glorious world of namkeen, with its pride, place, and peculiarities, became a battleground of shelf life and margin. That Kolhapuri crunch was now neon orange. That Seeval from Madurai? Now drowned in bad oils and lab-tested for longevity, not love.A 2024 FSSAI report quietly confirmed what most grandmothers already suspected: over 60% of India's packaged snacks contain refined palm oil, an industrial fat linked to rising LDL cholesterol and long-term heart risk. And that's before you even reach the preservatives aisle: BHA. TBHQ. that wouldn't dare enter a home kitchen now fill our snack Rediscovery: Where Memory Still LivesPatang was born not in a boardroom, but in a moment of yearning. For real food. For the smell of mustard oil hitting iron. For the feel of snacks that spoke of place, people, and time.'We didn't want to build a brand," says Shoury Gupta, Patang's Founder. 'We wanted to trace a memory. I wanted to eat like I did when I was ten."And so, Patang went searching. To Bengaluru, where a retired teacher still makes Tapioca Chips every Sunday for her neighbours. To Madurai, where Seeval is cut not with blades, but fingers. To Thoothukudi, where cashews are still pan-tossed in pepper and pride. These aren't factories. They're families. Communities. Tiny kitchens with huge Revival: Small Batches, Big HeartToday, Patang launches across India with a quiet rebellion. No preservatives. No colours that could double as a science project. Patang flavours are:a. 100% vegetarian (some even vegan)b. Made in its region of originc. Crafted in 60-90 kilo batchesd. Cooked in healthier oils such as cold-pressed groundnut and mustardEvery pack comes not just with a crunch, but with a tale of someone, somewhere, still doing things the old way.A recent Mintel survey found that 72% of urban Indian millennials now read ingredient labels before buying snacks. They're saying no to Tartrazine, no to 'contains permitted antioxidants," and yes to foods that feel familiar, trustworthy, and true. These consumers aren't just looking for clean ingredients – they're looking for a speaks their language. Not in marketing gloss, but in the dialects of Kolhapuri, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi – the unspoken tongue of snacks that travelled in dabbas, not cartons. Of Calcutta Chanachur wrapped in newspaper. Of Bhadang passed around train compartments. Of rainy Sundays, hot chai, and the soft rustle of old recipes brought back to Invitation: Come Taste a StoryPatang's inaugural collection features eight regional specialties, available nationwide through
India.com
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Remember Chapu from Salaam Bombay? His film was once nominated for an Oscar, won a National Award for…, now struggles to make ends meet, works as a…, his name is…
Cinema has become not just a medium of entertainment but also a means of emotional bonding across the world. Every year, countless films of different genres are released, sometimes romantic, sometimes action, and sometimes based on true events. Some films do wonders at the box office, while some are remembered even after years due to their depth and sensitivity. One such film is 'Salaam Bombay', released in 1988. Directed by Mira Nair, this film did not get much discussion at that time, but with time it started being counted among the cult films of Indian cinema. After all, Bollywood's veteran actor Irrfan Khan got recognition in the cinema world through this film. Could not get recognition even after becoming a hero Although Irrfan was not the lead actor in this film but a supporting actor, the soul of this film was a 12-year-old boy, played by Shafiq Syed. He had entered the hearts of the audience as the main character of the film 'Chapu'. Even though the film had the support of big stars Nana Patekar, Raghuveer Yadav, Irrfan Khan, Anita Kanwar, but the whole story of the film revolves around Chapu i.e. Shafiq Syed. Shafiq was awarded the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for this film, which showed the bitter truth of Mumbai's streets through an innocent child's eyes. People thought that Shafiq's luck had shone, and he would emerge as a big name in the cinema world and become the new star of Bollywood. Away from the glamour, towards the struggles But the sad thing is that despite the success of this film, Shafiq Syed's life was not what it should have been for a child artist. Neither did he taste financial growth nor did he get many films. Even today he is travelling a journey full of struggle away from glamour. Shafiq was born and brought up in the slums of Bangalore. As a teenager, he ran away with his friends to Mumbai, where he spent his days on the footpath near the railway station. Mira Nair noticed him then and he was cast in 'Salaam Bombay'. For the film, he was paid 20 rupees daily and a vada as lunch. Now he is driving home by auto After 'Salaam Bombay', Shafiq worked in another Mira Nair film 'Patang' in 1994, but after that he disappeared from the film world. He returned to Bangalore to his family, where he started living a normal life. Today Shafiq Syed drives an auto rickshaw. To feed his family and fulfill their needs, he also works temporarily with small production houses, especially in the Kannada TV industry. In an old interview to the Telegraph, he had said, 'I had to take responsibility of my family. There was no such responsibility in 1987. Now I have the burden of many people on my shoulders.' The battle between family and dreams Shafiq is the head of a family today. He lives with his wife, mother, three sons and a daughter in a small town 30 km from Bengaluru. He may be remembered for 'Salaam Bombay', but the glamour of films is now far away from his life. In 2008, when 'Slumdog Millionaire' gained international popularity, people remembered 'Salaam Bombay' and Chapu, but by then Shafiq had returned to a normal life, where every day is a struggle for him. Shafiq Syed's story highlights the reality of Indian cinema, where art gets recognition, but the future of an artist is often lost in the fog. This child who once won millions of hearts as Chapu is still looking for a better life.
