Boman Rashid Kohinoor was an icon of India’s bustling financial capital Mumbai. The 97 year who called himself “India’s biggest fan of the Royal Family” died on Wednesday 25th September after a brief illness.
Kohinoor owned an Iranian restaurant, Britannia which was famous for its low priced berry pulao (a rice dish with cashews and raisins) and caramel custard.
However, Kohinoor was far more famous than the dishes he served. Recently the 97-year-old gained internet fame after he met the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, during their visit to India in 2016.
A video of Kohinoor holding up a board asking to the Duchess of Cambridge to meet him, went viral.
Kohinoor was always loved for his eccentricities and the personal touch he offered customers who would visit his restaurant in the commercial Ballard Estate area during lunch hours.
Kohinoor often joined his customers at their tables and eagerly asked for feedback on the food or would tell the customers what to order. He always talked about how much he loved the Royal Family and never failed to show off his large framed picture of Queen Elizabeth.
“He used to have a huge rooster that used to flap around the restaurant. I don’t remember its name, but I think it had a minor role in a film,” Siddarth Bhatia, co-founder of The Wire news website and Mumbai chronicler, told the BBC.
Mr Bhatia, always visited the restaurant since the 1980s, and also described Mr Irani as a “canny businessman”.
“I think the hipster crowd discovered the place a few years ago – they all loved the chatter of this eccentric old man. His charm attracted people in droves in a city where restaurants are known for being a little impersonal,” he said.
Many past and present patrons of Britannia paid tribute to Kohinoor on social media and some shared memories of their favourite encounters with the Indian icon.
“If you noticed, they had not bothered to even upgrade the decor. If you went slightly inside, you would see the place was filthy, but it was what I called an ‘Instagrammable restaurant’ – the food, the ambience and the man were all major attractions,” Mr Bhatia said.
“Mumbai will miss him”.
