Mumbai fed Phil Rosenthal

Last year in May we got a tip that the crew of Somebody Feed Philmdashan American television travel documentary series on Netflix presented by Philip Rosenthalmdashwas in the city to shoot an episode We were told sternly by every reference we contacted that he wasnrsquot doing interviews We tried our luck one last time by writing an email to an ID shared by Chintan Pandya of Dhamaka Restaurant in New York who had shot with the crew earlier that day at Soam BabulnathRichard Rosenthal Philrsquos brother and a threetime Emmy Awardwinning producer who serves as showrunner and executive producer of the show kindly invited us to watch the filming at a restaurant The fact that the two brothers have the gift of producing compelling content is known to those familiar with the show but watching the crew film at The Bombay Canteen was a study into what sharp filmmaking looks likeKavi Thakrar owner of Dishoom London breaking bread with Phil at a restaurant off Muhammad Ali RoadLater that week we met him at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel where he was staying with kheema pav and homemade sheer kurma for the crew out of admiration Since then we have waited patiently till he announced the cities to be featured on the upcoming show starting March 1 The diverse destinations include Dubai Mumbai Kyoto Taipei Washington DC Orlando with a twist Scotland and IcelandThose who knew we met him have asked what hersquos like in person Wersquod say a hundred per cent like the guy you see on the showmdashfreespirited energetic cheerful and downright honestExcerpts from the interviewWhat shifted you from scripting comedy to hosting and producing a food showI have always loved great food Growing up I wasnrsquot in a situation where that love was able to flourish because my immigrant parents worked very hard and didnrsquot have a lot of money Food wasnrsquot a priority Wersquod beg our parents to go to McDonaldrsquos because at least that food had fat salt and flavour I ate many pizzas hot dogs hamburgers and French friesmdashfoods I still love because I loved them as a kidAt 23 I got a very cheap flight to Europe and I had my first bite of food in Parismdashmy head exploded Then on that same trip I went to Italy Italian food is remarkable Back home in New York I discovered Indian food and thought it was so exoticmdashand I fell in love with spicy food from other parts of Asia Then I moved to LA and felt it had more diversity New York might have a few more countries represented but more people live outside their native homes in LA than anywhere elseHow has the food scene evolved globallyThe Internet makes the world a level playing field in information So a boy in a small town in America can see what a chef in India is doing and can try to replicate it When people use local ingredients it makes it easier to relate I believe that is what is happening right nowmdashwe are owning our produce Also if you like a cuisine I tell people they must go to the source So if you want to explore Indian food you know where it is really really good In IndiaHow did the idea of Somebody feed Phil come to lifeAfter Everybody Loves Raymond the Russian versionmdashExporting Raymondmdashcame out That was the first time I faced the camera Travel changes you and your perspective on life When I travelled to Europe for the first time I admired the planned cities but even the trees looked beautiful At the time I didnrsquot live in a significant section of New York and I remember when I returned and was walking down the street I said hey we have lovely trees My eyes just opened up to them After going from one network to another finally when Public Broadcasting Service PBS aired lsquoIrsquoll have what Philrsquos havingrsquo in 2015 things changedBrothers Phil and Richard Rosenthal formed Lucky Bastards to help clients capture and tell great storiesmdashfrom fiction to unscripted series to documentariesEventually in 2018 Somebody Feed Phil came to life When you write a script you hope one person at the network would like it enough to let you do the showmdashseason after season For now when I wake up I feel like the luckiest person in the world To be able to travel means I can compare my life to everything else that I see and want to doWhat took you so long to come to MumbaiWe started with Mumbai because itrsquos the centremdashthe big one However Irsquoll admit I was afraid With whatever I had seen and heard of the citymdashfrom movies and people who had travelled heremdashI knew it had stark contrasts and I was worried about how to present it The show is supposed to be light hearted and fun and when there are so many people suffering how do I show that side I didnrsquot want to show rich people I wanted to show real life Mumbai is a major city and you have much of everything here We always leave the place a bit better than when we came here Also every American who had come here told me they got very sick and since Irsquod be here with the crew on a schedule I wasnrsquot sure how Irsquod manage eating and not falling sick I overcame that and here I amTravel is a giftWhile filming Everybody Loves Raymond Phil asked Ray Ramano on whose life the sitcom is based where he was going for a vacation and he said to the Jersey Shore in New Jersey ldquoItrsquos nice but itrsquos not travelling very far just going to the beach When I asked him if he had ever been to Europe he said no And I was asking a 40yearold man When I asked why not he stated I am not interested in different things Thatrsquos like twothirds of Americansmdashthey donrsquot even have a passport I feel if somebody gave you a house as a gift would you stay only in one room of the house Of course not We have been offered a giftmdashthis earthmdashand I want to see the whole houseAfter much persuasion for three to four years we shot two episodes of the show in Italy where his family is originally from And in just a few days I saw him transform from that lsquoI am not interested in differentrsquo attitude to where he suddenly lsquogetsrsquo it He kept asking in awemdashHave you tried gelato Isnrsquot the pizza unbelievable and the pasta the best yoursquove ever had I said lsquoYes Ray that happens when you travelrsquo Now Ray travels all the time and if I could do that for him wouldnrsquot it be great if I could do that with other people