A restaurant with a nine-second sellout and a 10,000-person waitlist doesn't happen by accident — it's the result of a much longer story.
Sujatha Padmanabhan sits down with Vikas Khanna to talk about building Bungalow, growing up in Amritsar, and the two-decade journey of bringing Indian food to the world stage. He opens up about the sacrifices behind the success, the loneliness of building a life abroad, and why his connection to India has only grown stronger with distance.
From his mother's influence to his belief in the diaspora's role in shaping how the world sees Indian food, this is a conversation about ambition, identity, and what it really costs to build something the world lines up for.
All of this, and more, on this episode of Diaspora Dialogues by TOI™.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
03:15 - Making it to Time 100 and ‘Vikas Khanna 2.0’
08:56 - On Patriotism and Sacrifice
15:52 - The ‘Chicken Tikka Masala’ Stereotype
18:02 - On Bungalow and Vikas Khanna’s Journey
26:17 - Entrepreneurship and Investing in Indian Entrepreneurs
33:08 - Vikas Khanna on Companionship and Loneliness
36:41 - On Books, Films and Creative Process
45:19 - Finding a Perfect Balance and ‘Shahrukh Khan Moment’
50:53 - What’s Next for Vikas Khanna?
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