Chomping on entertainment

Film director Satish Kaushik is better known for commercial hits such as Hum Apke Dil Mein Rehte Hain and Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, each of them grossing at least Rs 10 crore at the box office. Now he says he wants to take his other passion "" food "" to the masses.

Following the footsteps of other celebrity restaurateurs such as singer Asha Bhonsle, actor Suneil Shetty and cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, Kaushik this week launched Khana Unlimited, a 90-seater quick-service food outlet in New Delhi's Connaught Place. Here one can indulge in a non-stop vegetarian thali meal for Rs 99 (taxes extra).

Kaushik, who recently launched his new company, Realgood Food, with venture partner Manoj Mittal to enter the food business, says: "Entertainment and food go hand in hand. Since I am already in the film business, I thought of a restaurant based on the concept of Bollywood."

True, while the restaurant is basic, it is also a wee Bollywoodish. Posters of films running in the city theatres grace the walls. So does a giant screen that will offer sneak previews of Bollywood songs that will hit the multiplexes soon.

"We want the restaurant to be dynamic in nature and will regularly update the posters. We might even look at advertisement inserts from corporates. After all, it is a restaurant for the masses who also watch Bollywood films. Where will you get a captive audience like this?" asks Mittal. Realgood Food plans to open 20 outlets in three years, including five in Delhi and one in Mumbai this year.

As part of its cross-promotional strategy, Khana Unlimited has tied up with Spic Macay and singers Shibani Kashyap and JazzyB to advertise their upcoming albums at the restaurant's walls.

The other Realgood companies are Realgood Films and Realgood Events and Advertisement. Realgood Films will begin production of medium budget films and TV serials this year and enter the line production business. Realgood Events will manage movie premieres and alumni reunion events.

Khana Unlimited is targeting 400 meals a day and plans to breakeven within a year.