Two Things I Think We Can All Agree On

1) Padma Lakshmi may not be the sharpest tool in the shed:

“Padma Lakshmi,” she hoped, might one day be on as many food labels as “Paul Newman”—“a big hero.” Soon there would be Padma jewelry and fashion, “like Jennifer Lopez,” she said, and television and cookware, “like Martha Stewart.” In September, she sealed a major deal with IMG, the sports-and-entertainment marketing giant. “She has a global image and no end of ideas,” said John Steele, a senior V.P., “so we have multiple agreements.” “Like,” Padma said, “Tiger Woods.” How amazing was it that she, the daughter of a single mother who fled India to escape the stigma of divorce, was poised to become the first Indian woman with an American brand—perhaps the first to self-brand. “I’m as American as anyone else,” she has said. (link)

Ah yes, comparing yourself to Martha Stewart, Jennifer Lopez, and Tiger Woods in a single paragraph. Why not also go for P Diddy, to round out your own private Macy’s commercial of utter delusion? (Read on for more wince-worthy quotes…)

2) But she knows how to work the hair:

padma-lakshmi-vanity-fair.jpg

(Thanks for the tip, KXB. I know you read Vanity Fair for the articles, too.)

183 thoughts on “Two Things I Think We Can All Agree On

  1. From the article:

    Included in it were pictures of Padma which might be described as “foodie porn” (Padma in a lacy, low-cut dress, kneading dough; Padma in a silk slip, frying something up in a pan).

    She can get away with silk slips and kneading dough now, but if she is given a pink slip, she might find herself really needing dough.

    Also, isn’t food porn supposed to show the food in glistening detail, in pride-of-place position? When did it become the effete sidekick?

  2. What is so so khas abt tambrams ??!! Andhra, Karnataka, Maharashtra have equally strict vegetarian brahmins but I don’t see them flaunting their caste like the Tamils ??!! Why such arrogance among tambrams ??

    because it rhymes. unlike telbram, kanbram or marbram (although the last is a palindrome).

    that, and tambrams are better human beings overall.

  3. Also, isn’t food porn supposed to show the food in glistening detail, in pride-of-place position? When did it become the effete sidekick?

    In 1986.

  4. What is so so khas abt tambrams ??!! Why such arrogance among tambrams ??

    ‘Cause it rhymes and lends itself to bad jokes. What do you call a one night stand involving a Tamil Brahmin? A Tambrahm thank-you-ma’am.

    As you see, the rhyme is the reason.

  5. because it rhymes. unlike telbram, kanbram or marbram (although the last is a palindrome). that, and tambrams are better human beings overall.

    I hope you are joking. You are, right?

  6. What do you call a one night stand involving a Tamil Brahmin? A Tambrahm thank-you-ma’am.

    Now that’s a good response. Thanks pingpong. You are funny.

  7. Amit – thanks for nothing for that Nine 1/2 Weeks clip. I had to restore my sanity with this. But I was thinking more of this food porn.

  8. You should switch over to the smug-powered model. It’s far more reliable and you can charge it even while the sky is overcast.

    Why murali, is there a reason I’ll need it more often here on SM? 😉 :p (j/k) 😀

  9. Why murali, is there a reason I’ll need it more often here on SM? 😉 :p (j/k) 😀

    not really. the current models favored by the hotair/MM/Ace crowd doesn’t feature the false-positive ‘humor’ fail-safe feature. that’s the biggest failing of the device, IMO.

    p.s. TamBrams are the best!

  10. p.s. TamBrams are the best!

    I concur. Sorry, let me say that in Malayalam: “Mmmmmmmm.”

  11. DL be like Chachaji in Savile Row suit with sprig of dessicated rosemary in the breast pocket.

    thanks, mm. but i stick to my tambram roots with dried karuveppilai.

    I hope you are joking. You are, right?

    what about? tambram does rhyme.

  12. I concur. Sorry, let me say that in Malayalam: “Mmmmmmmm.”

    I dedicate this latest, greatest, hacking-yet-productive cough to you, Anna. (as it came after the belly laugh).

  13. dedicate this latest, greatest, hacking-yet-productive cough to you, Anna.

    Ewww. Gross. Oh, I see. TamBrams are best at producing hacking-yet-productive cough 🙂

  14. I concur. Sorry, let me say that in Malayalam: “Mmmmmmmm.”

    Due to my limited understanding of Malayalam, and due to a certain lack of tonal information on the web, I am unable to resolve the meaning accurately. Did you mean “My partner has been drinking a lot of pineapple juice. Mmmmmm!”, or “I am auditioning for a Metamucil commercial. Mmmmm!”, or “Why did you have to put paneer on my dosa? Mmmm!”.

  15. My hatred of über-consumerism aside, I have no problem with what she’s doing. If you’re gonna whore your name, whore it big!

    If Martha Stewart can have Omnimedia, bring on the OmniPadma. If she enjoys a modicum of branding success, hooray for her.

  16. but if she is given a pink slip, she might find herself really needing dough.

    Puli, but she does not work at Merril Lynch, so she doesn’t have to worry about it. Or Morgan Stanley.

  17. I don’t find her stupid – quite the contrary. I saw her in an interview by – is it Craig Ferguson? An arrogrant Brit or Scot, racist and condescending, and she pulled him up short on a couple of occasions without losing an iota of graciousness. Made India look good, made the host look ignorant. Don’t hate her just cuz she’s beautiful!

  18. I don’t find her stupid – quite the contrary. I saw her in an interview by – is it Craig Ferguson? An arrogrant Brit or Scot, racist and condescending, and she pulled him up short on a couple of occasions without losing an iota of graciousness. Made India look good, made the host look ignorant. Don’t hate her just cuz she’s beautiful!

    good job by the Pad. In the Fergs defense, he was stoned.

  19. i just watched that craig ferguson clip and she says she’s from kerala…so then she’s not tam-bram?

  20. good job by the Pad.

    Yeah, she’s fabulous on Ferg’s show.

    I saw her in an interview by – is it Craig Ferguson? An arrogrant Brit or Scot, racist and condescending,

    Hardly. He’s fab too.

  21. Cringeworthy indeed. The writer managed to be fawning and patronizing at the same time. PL comes across as driven, self absorbed and not stupid at all. Though she just can’t act, how to interpret that particular malady?

  22. i just watched that craig ferguson clip and she says she’s from kerala…so then she’s not tam-bram?

    i think she grew up in madras. i rememeber watching a food planet show where she travels to three south indian states (kerala, karnataka, and AP) to check out their cuisines. oddly, she tried to speak tamil in all three states to clearly non-tamil speaking people (didn’t hear a lick of malayalam when in kerala). and her tamil wasn’t very fluent, though that’s not something very uncommon these days in madras….

    Her name always bothered me. Lakshmi’s not her family name, is it?

    maybe it’s her full first name? i.e. padmalakshmi. numerous syllables notwithstanding, a single name moniker would have been uber-trendy 😉

  23. re my post #77 – i’m not sure she grew up in madras, since the VF article talks about her moving here at a young age? i’ve read previous articles about her childhood in madras, but maybe they were references to trips back to india…

  24. On the catwalk many models are anonymous and given to expressions which might remind one of a painting. But some super-models (Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, and now Padma Lakshmi) say and do things from time to time which attract attention, for good or for ill. It must come with the territory.

  25. i think she grew up in madras. i rememeber watching a food planet show where she travels to three south indian states (kerala, karnataka, and AP) to check out their cuisines. oddly, she tried to speak tamil in all three states to clearly non-tamil speaking people (didn’t hear a lick of malayalam when in kerala). and her tamil wasn’t very fluent, though that’s not something very uncommon these days in madras….

    ew. she need to stop imposing her tamil sense of superiority on the rest of the south!

  26. Seahawks fan, Seems like your notion of ‘fab’ includes not knowing Sri Lanka is a sovereign country, mocking Sri Lankan customs, and getting annoyed by/dismissing intelligent remarks. Guy looked like a glassy-eyed loser to me, but to each his own.

  27. Padma is Malayalee. She says so in both of her cookbooks. I think she is must be a Tamil-Malayaleee since she speaks Tamil.

    Padma’s a good cook. She won the 1999 Versailles World Cookbook Fair award for best cookbook by a first-time writer. She great as a hostess of Top Chef too. She was asked to come back for Season 3. The original host on Season 1 sucks and she wasn’t half as hot as Padma… Anyway, why are you people being so critical of Padma? It isn’t like Aishwarya can act. Ash has had a boob job and gets her pics heavily airbrushed. Padma is the first desi beauty to be known in internationally as a top model. She is the first one in the US for sure. Unlike the Bollywood tartlets, at least she hasn’t succumbed to breast implants and plastic surgery. Must be those amazing South Indian genes.

  28. Can we appreciate one great South Indian woman (Padma) without denigrating another (Aish)? Please?

    To each their own. 🙂

  29. Seems like your notion of ‘fab’ includes not knowing Sri Lanka is a sovereign country, mocking Sri Lankan customs, and getting annoyed by/dismissing intelligent remarks

    Wow, did we watch the same clip? You must be the single most sensitive person on earth. Also, I think he misspoke when he said ‘mainland’, her correction just exaggerated the mistake.

    I’ve never heard Padma talk but, from that clip, she seems pretty bright. Where did the notion that she was dumb come from?

  30. when someone asks me why I’m vegetarian I say its because I’m brahmin. Its not done in implicit acceptance of racism. I say it because its the truth.

    Why not stick to facts and say you do not like meat. Isn’t that the truth? How does being a brahmin enter into the discussion.

  31. people shouldn’t refer to themselves as white, christian, european, black, muslim, hindu etc. etc. , because all those terms can be indicative of acceptance of something unpleasant

    Calling yourself a brahmin is equivalent to a white man calling himself master and wondering why the black/brown does not call himself a slave.

  32. gross manju, what a terrible image.

    also, amaun, maybe the answer should be “because my religion says i can’t, i’m sure i would love it though…probs”

  33. That’s nothing…you should see Ferguson rip into J.K. Rowling (he impersonates her). The man is inspired…he’ll never out do Conan though..

  34. Or it’s like a southerner proclaiming that she/he was from the “Plantation Owner’s Tribe” to a crowd of African-Americans.

    I actually know a 25 year old Tamil Brahmin. He’s got such an inferiority complex, in my honest opinion. He’s from India (born/raised), and he’s only been here in Boston for ~5 months working in IT at Patni Consultants. He always talks about being Brahmin and so on. Look, I’m not one bit color conscious and regard myself as color-blind; I don’t care about organized religions, even though I respect many different beliefs; and I’m very egalitarian in terms of respecting people equally of different socio-economic groups, income levels, educational levels, etc.

    But this guy, although he’s basically a sweet guy, he feels that he has to stretch out Brahmin’s pedigree. He stated that Finnish language is very similar to Tamil language. As a Tamil who’s very interested in linguistics, I don’t have the heart to ask him “what the heck are you talking about?” He once said that his ancestors came from N. India, which may be the case, but when you see him, all you see is Tamil. There’s nothing wrong with proclaiming that your ancestors are from Tamil Nadu. It seems that he’s a microcosm of all inferiority complexes in India. Nobody, I mean nobody, is content with just being Indian. They all want some hyphen in there and/or they also want to pre-fabricate their ancestry/lineage. I just cut/pasted something about Germans being a type of Gujurati a few days ago. I thought that was hysterical.

  35. Anyway, why are you people being so critical of Padma? It isn’t like Aishwarya can act. Ash has had a boob job and gets her pics heavily airbrushed. Padma is the first desi beauty to be known in internationally as a top model. She is the first one in the US for sure. Unlike the Bollywood tartlets, at least she hasn’t succumbed to breast implants and plastic surgery. Must be those amazing South Indian genes.

    Because until everyone recognizes that I am really the hottest desi girl around, they’re just living a lie! 😛 Apparently my amazing south Indian genes will help me though, thank goodness!

    Also, you realllly think Padma doesn’t get her pics airbrushed? She is a model (and an aging one). And, um, is she really that famous on an international level? Even on a national level in the U.S.? I would think that Ash is more well-known, actually. Also, the reason she didn’t get breast implants to further her runway modeling career is that runway models aren’t supposed to have big (or even medium-sized) boobs. Duh. Indian actresses are. It’s not like she’s performing some sort of act of rebellion against Western high fashion standards of beauty.

  36. He stated that Finnish language is very similar to Tamil language.

    This type of thing always rankles me. One North Indian contention is that we are like Europeans because we eat wheat instead of rice and drink milk regularly, and that’s particular to white people. We’re not so much like Asians or the rest of Indians as a result. I hear it all the time from people I know personally, and it intimates inferiority, prejiduce, supremacy and classism all at the same time.

  37. I actually know a 25 year old Tamil Brahmin. He’s got such an inferiority complex, in my honest opinion. He’s from India (born/raised), and he’s only been here in Boston for ~5 months working in IT at Patni Consultants. He always talks about being Brahmin and so on.

    he wouldn’t need to be so defensive if he’d at least got a job at infosys.

  38. “Ash has had a boob job and gets her pics heavily airbrushed.”

    wtf are you talking about! proof?

  39. Because until everyone recognizes that I am really the hottest desi girl around, they’re just living a lie! 😛

    Hot or Not?

    Magic 8-ball says: Answers within

  40. I think you really meant to refer me here.

    (And in high school some of my friends and I thought it would be funny to put up profiles of ourselves on the site, and I was at the top for a brief three days.)

  41. And, um, is she really that famous on an international level?

    She was far more successful in Europe than America, so yes.

    General Rant:

    I don’t get the necessity for haterade, whether it’s aimed towards Padma or Aish. Boob job? Aging? Air brushing? Skin bleaching? Maybe I should have been specific-to-the-point-of-nausea here, when I said can we do this without denigrating others.

  42. I didn’t mean to seem like I was hating by mentioning that she is aging (very well, might I add, but she’s still not as young as most runway models), I brought it up in relation to her career (which used to depend almost exclusively on her looks when she was a model, and now still depends a lot on her looks since she is a media figure). For the record, I’m ambivalent towards Padma. I don’t think I even have a brown beauty idol… Rani Mukherji? Genelia? Possibly Sridevi. I dunno.

  43. I don’t think I even have a brown beauty idol… Rani Mukherji? Genelia? Possibly Sridevi. I dunno.

    I feel bad for you nala. Me? I’m set. Behold.