Acting is not a stable profession. You can be a star one day and crash to the ground the next. Considering the volatile nature of fame, many actors engage in business as a parallel career, choosing to invest their money in ventures that interest them.
The food business is one that has attracted many actors. Bollywood stars like Mithun Chakraborty, Shilpa Shetty, and Sushmita Sen run restaurants and the business is just as popular in Tollywood. Here's a look at the restaurants owned by some Tollywood stars.
Akkineni Nagarjuna: N Grill and N Asian
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In 2014, Telugu superstar Nagarjuna and his business partner Preetam Reddy started a modern grill house N Grill, and a Chinese restaurant named N Asian, both of which became popular destinations for the foodie in Hyderabad.
With the motive to expand his business, Nagarjuna opened a resto-bar at Jubilee Hills, and named it N-District. Though he's involved in other businesses too, food and hospitality remains his favourite.
Allu Arjun: 800 Jubilee
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The stylish Allu Arjun has started a club in association with an international brewing company M. Kitchen in the month of July, this year. ‘800 Jubilee’, which is located in Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad is a brewery, nightclub, restaurant and a place for events. The restaurant serves Continental, Mexican, American, North Indian, South Indian and Japanese cuisine. The club has high-end breweries which are new to the city.
Sharwanandi: Beenz, The Urban Coffee Village
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Sharwanandi, who is known for playing supporting roles, owns a coffee shop called ‘Beenz: The Urban Coffee Village’ near Jubilee Hills Club, which he started in 2008.
The mud walls and bamboo trees inside the coffee shop give it a rural touch.
Beenz coffee shop has a wide range of coffee and dessert, as well as Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic snacks. It also has a selection of rural specials like punugulu, mirapakaya bajjilu, kheema dosa, vada and seafood delicacies like prawns and stuffed crabs.
Shashank: Mayabazar
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Shashank, who became famous after "Sye", started a restaurant named after the evergreen movie title ‘Mayabazar’ this year. Every Tollywood fan remembers the scene in which S.V. Ranga Rao downs different types of food in large quantities. The restaurant serves North Indian, Chinese, and Tandoor food as well as biryanis. The interior has a retro look and also life-sized posters of the actors from the movie.
Manchu Mohan Babu: Junior Kuppanna restaurant
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One of the most versatile Telugu actors, Manchu Mohan Babu, has acted in over 560 movies, produced over 63 blockbuster hits, and is also a leader and a politician. Mohan Babu always dreamt of starting a five star hotel but dropped the idea on his father’s advice to open a school instead. But this year, he finally inaugurated the first branch of the Junior Kuppanna restaurant franchise in Hyderabad in the month of July.
“People of Chennai and Bengaluru are well-aware of Kuppanna. Whenever I visit Bengaluru, I ensure to make a halt at Kuppanna’s. Since the owner of the franchise is a good friend of mine, getting an outlet in Hyderabad was not of any hassle,”he told The Hans India.
Pranita Subhash: Resto-pub Bootlegger
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One of the top female actors of Tollywood, Pranita Subhash, was into modelling before she started her career in the film industry. Last year, she partnered with friends to get into the resto-pub business and started Bootlegger on Lavelle Road in Bengaluru.
“As an actress, I always had a passion for food. I was looking at the right opportunity for an investment in a restaurant. I learnt through one of my friends about this venture and decided to be part of it. While cinema will always remain my first choice as a profession, the restaurant business is more of a passion which I intend to pursue,” she told Times of India in an interview.