M. Night Shyamalan Dines at Tashan Restaurant in Philadelphia

Munish Narula,  M. Night Shyamalan and Bhavna Shyamalan at Tashan

By A.D. AMOROSI

Philadelphia-based auteur M. Night Shyamalan is certainly busy editing and filming additional footage for After Earth, his upcoming flick with Will and Jaden Smith (due for release on June 7, 2013). But a director-producer has to eat, so this past Saturday he and his wife Bhavna had a date night and dined at Tashan, Philadelphia’s finest Indian restaurant.

Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman at Tashan

Shyamalan and his family have been to Munish Narula’s flavorful South Broad Street hot spot before to enjoy the adventurous cuisine from Executive Chef Sylva Senat. The barely one-year-old Tashan has become Philly’s go-to restaurant for local and visiting film dignitaries looking for fine Indian fare. Just weeks ago, actors Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman dined together on Tashan’s chef’s tasting menu while on a late night break from filming the corporate espionage thriller Paranoia with Liam Hemsworth, Josh Holloway and Amber Heard. (Paranoia’s cast and crew will return to Philly in December to film additional wintry scenes after Hemsworth wraps up his role in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.)

Long before Paranoia’s mega-watt stars hit Tashan, the 777 S. Broad Street restaurant was filled with the cast and crew of Silver Linings Playbook, which filmed here in late 2011. The quirky comedy’s star, Bradley Cooper, didn’t stop by Tashan, but director David O. Russell and co-stars Chris Tucker, John Ortiz, Jackie Weaver and, Bollywood sensation Anupam Kher ate there with dozens of other crew members. Madhu Narula, the wife of Tashan’s owner, reportedly wound up with a supporting walk-on role in Silver Linings Playbook. We’ll find out if she made the film’s final cut as Silver Linings Playbook is scheduled for release on November 21 of this year.

Photos ©Tyler Ward 2012

Posted on Monday, September 10, 2011 8:49 AM