SRK’s saucy scene is a hit on YouTube

The new immigration rules have already had a devastating effect on the Indian restaurant industry in the UK, with restaurateurs being told to employ East European workers in place of calling staff over from the sub-continent.

But things are getting from bad to worse with officials from the Borders and Immigration Agency regularly raiding restaurants looking for illegal immigrants.

The raids are conducted at peak business hours when the restaurants are packed. The officials enter in a dramatic fashion forcing patrons to leave without paying and in some cases closing the establishment down completely. They then question staff and ask to see their immigration papers. The raid does not do a lot for the eatery’s image either.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs select committee and MP for Leicester East — which has a large Asian electorate — has been inundated with complaints from restaurateurs complaining that their businesses are suffering. Vaz has called for an immediate halt on the raids.

Britain’s curry industry has been built on the backs of staff from the Indian sub-continent and there is no way that East Europeans can take their place. The restaurant staffs often work long hours for very little pay but they do not live off the state.

It is a shame that they are being treated so badly! If the government is not careful, Britain will not only lose its favourite food — chicken tikka masala — but also its status as the cuisine capital of Europe.

Walking down the trendy high street in Hampstead last week deciding which of the many chic coffee shops to enter I came across an interesting new café — Chaiwalla. The tearoom selling authentic Indian masala chai opened last month and is the brainchild of the young Neil Sanyal. Sanyal is only 19 and has just finished his ‘A’ levels.

With low seating and large black and white photographs, the décor of this interesting tearoom is reminiscent of the roadside tea stalls of Kolkata.

Sanyal’s Bengali parents would take him back to Kolkata every year and as he grew up in the UK, he always wanted to bring a slice of that life back with him. He has managed that now. The tea is served in earthen cups imported from Kolkata and his team is even preparing a film that will depict scenes of roadside stall-owners preparing masala chai in India to be shown on a plasma screen at Chaiwalla.

“Chai has been growing in popularity in Britain and is a much healthier option than coffee,” said Sanyal. The tearoom also offers Indian snacks at a very reasonable cost — providing an excellent alternative to the over-priced coffee shops in the area. Tea lovers have 12 varieties to choose from, so next time you feel like a nice hot cup of Indian chai in London, head for Hampstead!

A  short clip from the 1992 film Maya Memsaab was brought to my attention last week. The clip shows a very saucy scene from king Khan’s early movie where he is performing his sexiest scenes ever in hot lovemaking with actress Deepa Sahi, including the ever-elusive screen kisses, and even offering a glimpse of the badshah’s naked derrier.

The 57 seconds long clip is currently being shown on the video sharing website YouTube and has the cheeky words “he (Shah Rukh) was young and needed the money” at the start of it.

The clip has already had 2,30,000 viewings and climbing. I’m sure Shah Rukh doesn’t know about it otherwise by now he would have had it removed.