From Songs to South Indian Flavours: Shankar Mahadevan Serves Up a Childhood Dream

Shankar Mahadevan had cooked for friends and family for years. Taking that passion to a restaurant table was a childhood ambition—until a conversation with entrepreneur K.S. Ramakrishnan gave it a much bigger canvas.

“Since childhood, I have had a dream that I want to open a restaurant because cooking is my passion,” the singer-composer said.

That dream took shape through Malgudi, the South Indian resto-cafe venture he co-founded with Ramakrishnan. Its Rajouri Garden outlet in New Delhi marks the brand’s 10th location in its current expansion across Mumbai and the United Arab Emirates.

ONE RESTAURANT? MAKE IT 100

Mahadevan met Ramakrishnan around a decade ago. When the subject of restaurants came up, he made his interest clear.

“When I met him, I said that I want a restaurant. Whenever a restaurant comes to your mind, a South Indian restaurant, I would like to be a part of it,” he recalled.

Ramakrishnan’s response expanded the ambition.

“So, he said, don't do just one restaurant. Let's do 100 together,” Mahadevan said.

“And that's how the journey started. So, meeting the right person at the right time, at the right place, with the right intention. And when souls connect, that's all God's work,” he added.

Ramakrishnan is the founder, President and CEO of DigiPhoto Entertainment Imaging and the founder and Chairman of Eatopia Holdings.

A SOUTH INDIAN ADDITION TO DELHI’S TABLE

The Rajouri Garden restaurant, located on Ring Road, opened on September 18. For Mahadevan, entering Delhi meant bringing the venture’s culinary identity to a city with an established appetite for food.

“We have to bring our South Indian cuisine to Delhi. So we didn't have to do it according to Delhi. We had to offer our food to Delhi because we know that this is the food capital of the country, and we can see that,” he said.

He claimed the outlet’s early business had surpassed that of the brand’s other locations in India.

“The way Rajouri is doing business, it is doing much better business than any other outlet in the country,” Mahadevan said.

Acknowledging the capital’s culinary favourites, he added: “We are not going to mess with it. We are adding South Indian food to it.”

NOSTALGIA IN A CONTEMPORARY SETTING

Ramakrishnan said Malgudi had an identity before the current venture, having previously operated as a quick-service restaurant business in Mumbai with around 10–14 outlets.

The name also evokes R.K. Narayan’s fictional town of Malgudi and its nostalgic associations. Ramakrishnan said the intention was to preserve the food’s South Indian character while updating the dining environment.

“We didn't change it. We kept it as it is. We enhanced it in the modern environment, or the interior. It's done in a very nice way,” he said.

The Rajouri Garden outlet hosted a celebration on October 13, with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari attending as special guest. Mahadevan performed for guests and staff, with songs including “Woh Ladki Hai Kahan” and “Jai Ganesha”. Singer Harshdeep Kaur also attended and performed “Ek Onkar” and “Dilbaro”.

For Mahadevan, the invitation to Delhi’s diners was straightforward.

“I would like to say that we have come to your city. We know that Delhi's chaat, parathas, and non-veg food are very good, and we would like to offer our food here,” he said.

With inputs from ANI