SHE may be a strikingly beautiful model and actress, but Karishma Kotak is perhaps at her best when lighting up a variety of TV shows with her winning hosting ability and asking high-profile international names searching questions.
Eastern Eye decided to turn the tables on the popular British talent by putting her in the hot seat with tricky problems to see what she would do. She lit up each answer with her winning smile and gave honest answers to some difficult questions.
A young child who looks up to you as a hero asks for help with their homework and you find it too difficult, what do you do?
I would sit and help with their homework. It’s fun and there’s nothing wrong with that. I get to learn so much from kids.
You agree to interview a prominent politician and then off the record they later say something vital to the public interest. Do you report it?
If I interviewed a politician and they say something else off the record, I would have to bounce that to my producer, and they would have to take a call. I would not have the authority to do that.
You go to a gay bar for a party and see your friend’s husband dressed in drag and working as a hostess incognito. What do you do?
I would have to tell my friend and let them know. These things might not be for everyone, but I would try and bring it to her notice.
You are about to do a hugely anticipated interview with a famous person on your show and realise they are high or drunk just before you go on air. What do you do?
If people are not having a good day or if they are drunk you have to have a laugh about it. Not mock them but play it down. You get them a nice strong black coffee and water, and extract what you want.
Your favourite elder in the family gifts you an awful outfit and expects you to wear it at a big family function. What do you do?
I would just say it didn’t fit. It’s a little loose or tight. I would wear it somewhere else. Take a picture on Instagram and tag them.
It is hours before your friend’s wedding and you have just come up with definitive proof that her soon-to-be husband is having an affair. What do you do?
If I find out a friend’s soon-to-be spouse is cheating on them, I would tell my friend. Marriages are difficult anyway. But starting a marriage based on lies has no chance of survival. I am all for honesty. I do want them to have a fantastic marriage but what if it never works out.
A friend buys you a lottery ticket as a gift and you secretly win £5,000. Would you share the winnings?
Yes, I would share the winnings. I would probably give them half of it. That’s pretty fair!
You are invited to the penthouse of a very famous star and accidentally spill orange juice on their expensive couch. Do you cover it up with a cushion or confess?
(Laughs) I have done this, and it has happened. I had to cover the couch. The famous person’s house that I went to was drunk and I hope that he hasn’t noticed yet.
You come across your partner’s diary, do you look inside it?
I can’t lie. If I come across it, I would take a sneak peek. Please don’t judge me on this.
Your single close friend, who is not dating material, wants to be fixed with up with your work colleague. What do you do?
The option is there to say my work colleague is dating someone, but why not give it a chance. She might not be dating material for someone else but may be suited to my work colleague. What is the worse that can happen?
You have brought expensive meals from a restaurant, which you serve at a dinner party. Everyone loves the food and compliments you on your amazing cooking. Do you accept the compliment?
I would probably take the compliment. (Laughs) If they are my real friends, they would know I haven’t cooked that.
You have just watched the worst Bollywood film at a premiere and the lead stars ask what you think straight after. What do you say?
This has also happened. I would say it’s interesting. But it depends on the star. I think they will know themselves, but your opinion is just a perspective and someone else may like it. It’s somebody’s hard work, so I would be diplomatic.
A close friend you know, who is totally unreliable and completely useless, asks for a job reference, do you give one?
No, I would not do that. I would not refer someone I can’t trust. The friend has asked me for a favour, and it may ruin my relationship, but I would be like, “I am sorry, I can’t”.
You go to interview a famous A-list superstar and notice his trouser zip is undone. Do you tell him?
No, I would not tell him. That’s a big no, no.
A friendly old lady is selling you a house and asking for way too little money. What do you do?
If she is asking me for little money, I would give what it is worth. It’s not morally correct to scam a sweet old lady at any time.
Someone anonymously sends your partner an expensive gift for their birthday, which you forgot. The partner thinks it’s from you, do you take credit for it?
No, I would not do that.
Someone you don’t really like invites you to an expensive restaurant impossible to get a booking at, you would love to try. Do you go just for the free meal?
No, I am not that attached to any restaurant that I would go to with someone I don’t like. No matter how good the food is, the company has to be good, if not great. The company is more important than the food.
Jay's grandma’s popcorn from Gujarat is now selling out everywhere.
Ditched the influencer route and began posting hilarious videos online.
Available in Sweet Chai and Spicy Masala, all vegan and gluten-free
Jayspent 18 months on a list. Thousands of names. Influencers with follower counts that looked like phone numbers. He was going to launch his grandmother's popcorn the right way: send free bags, wait for posts, pray for traction. That's the playbook, right? That's what you do when you're a nobody selling something nobody asked for.
Then one interaction made him snap. The entitlement. The self-importance. The way some food blogger treated his family's recipe like a favour they were doing him. He looked at his spreadsheet. Closed it. Picked up his phone and decided to burn it all down.
Now he makes videos mocking the same people he was going to beg for help. Influencers weeping over the wrong luxury car. Creators demanding payment for chewing food on camera. Someone having a breakdown about ice cubes. And guess what? The internet ate it up. His popcorn keeps selling out. And from Gujarat, his grandmother's 60-year-old recipe is now moving units because her grandson got mad enough to be funny about it.
Jay’s grandma’s popcorn from Gujarat is now selling out everywhere Instagram/daadisnacks
The kitchen story
Daadi means grandmother in Hindi. Jay's daadi came to America from Gujarat decades ago. Every weekend, she made popcorn with the spices she grew up with, including cardamom, cinnamon, and chilli mixes. It was her way of keeping home close while living somewhere that didn't taste like it.
Jay wanted that in stores. Wanted brown faces in the snack aisle. It didn’t happen overnight. It took a couple of years to get from a family recipe to something they could actually sell. Everyone pitched in, including his grandmom, uncle, mum. The spices come from small local farmers. There are just two flavours for now, Sweet Chai and Spicy Masala. It’s all vegan and gluten-free, packed in bright bags that instantly feel South Asian.
The videos don't look like marketing. They look like someone venting at 11 PM after scrolling too long. He nails the nasal influencer voice. The fake sympathy. “I can’t believe this,” he says in that exaggerated influencer tone, “they gave me the cheaper car, only eighty grand instead of one-twenty.” That clip alone blew up, pulling in close to nine million views.
Most people don't know they're watching a snack brand. They think it's social commentary. Jay never calls himself an influencer. He says he’s a creator, period. There’s a difference, and he makes sure people know it. His TikTok has around three hundred thousand followers, Instagram about half that. The comments read like a sigh of relief, people fed up with fake polish, finally hearing someone say what everyone else was thinking.
This fits into something called deinfluencing; people pushing back against the buy-everything-trust-nobody cycle. But Jay's version has teeth. He's naming names, calling out the economics. Big venture money flows to chains with good lighting. Family businesses with actual stories get ignored because their content isn't slick enough.
Jay watched his New York neighbourhood change. Chains moved in. Influencers posted about places that had funding and were aesthetic. The old spots, the family ones, got left behind. His videos are about that gap. The erosion of local culture by money and aesthetics.
"Big chains and VC-funded businesses are promoted at the expense of local ones," he said. His content doesn't just roast influencers. It promotes other small food makers who can't afford to play the game. He positions Daadi as a defender of something real against something plastic.
And it's working. Not just philosophically. Financially. The videos drive traffic. People click through, try the popcorn, come back. The company can't keep stock. That's the proof.
Daadi popcorn features authentic Gujarat flavours like Sweet Chai and Spicy Masala, all vegan and gluten-free Daadi Snacks
The blowback
People unfollow because they think he's too harsh. Jay's take: "I would argue I need to be meaner."
In May, he posted that he's not chasing content creation money like most people at his follower count. "I post to speak my mind and help my family's snack biz." That's a different model. Most brands pay influencers to make everything look perfect. They chase viral polish, and Jay does the opposite. In fact, he weaponises rawness and treats criticism like a product feature.
The internet mostly backs him. Reddit threads light up with support. One commenter was "toxic influencers choking on their matcha lattes searching their Balenciaga bags." Another: "Influencers are boring and unoriginal and can get bent." The anger is shared. Jay simply gave it a microphone and a snack to buy.
Jay's success says something about where things are going. People are done with curated perfection. They can smell the artificiality now. They respond to brands that feel like humans rather than committees. Daadi doesn't sell aspiration. Doesn't sell a lifestyle. Sells popcorn and a point of view.
The quality matters, including the spices, the sourcing, and the family behind it. But the edge matters too. He’s not afraid to say what most brands tiptoe around. “We just show who we are,” Jay says. “No pretending, no gloss. People can feel that and that’s when they reach for the popcorn.”
Most small businesses can't afford to play the traditional game. Can't pay influencers. Can't hire agencies. Can't fake their way into feeds. Maybe they don't need to. Maybe honesty and humour can cut through if they're sharp enough. If the product backs it up. If the story is real and the person telling it isn't trying to sound like a PR script.
This started with a list Jay didn't use. The business took off the moment he stopped trying to play by the usual rules and started speaking his mind. Turns out, honesty sells. And yes, the popcorn really does taste good.
Daadi Snacks merch dropInstagram/daadisnacks
The question is whether this scales. Whether other small businesses watch this and realise they don't need to beg for attention from people who don't care. Right now, Daadi keeps selling out. People keep watching. The grandmother's recipe that was supposed to need influencer approval is doing fine without it. Better than fine. Turns out the most effective marketing strategy might just be giving a damn and not being afraid to show it.
By clicking the 'Subscribe’, you agree to receive our newsletter, marketing communications and industry
partners/sponsors sharing promotional product information via email and print communication from Garavi Gujarat
Publications Ltd and subsidiaries. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the
unsubscribe link in our emails. We will use your email address to personalize our communications and send you
relevant offers. Your data will be stored up to 30 days after unsubscribing.
Contact us at data@amg.biz to see how we manage and store your data.