Brands
Badshah’s Badboy Pizza slips into India’s QSR scene with a bold, desi twist
MUMBAI: Critically acclaimed rapper, singer-songwriter and serial entrepreneur Badshah has fired up the ovens and stormed into India’s booming quick service restaurant (QSR) sector with Badboy Pizza—a mass-premium pizza chain that promises bold flavours, slick branding, and a desi-meets-global attitude.
The artist, whose real name is Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia, has teamed up with Ghost Kitchens India, one of the country’s largest cloud kitchen players led by serial founder Karan Tanna, to build what the duo claim will be “the most exciting QSR launch of the decade.”
Ahead of the opening, the internet was set ablaze with a cheeky viral campaign featuring Badshah being slapped—by a pizza. The stunt, designed to juice the brand’s tagline ‘pizza that slaps,’ racked up over eight million views across platforms and turbocharged buzz around the brand’s launch.
Badboy Pizza is now live with a flagship boutique outlet in Andheri, Mumbai, and is eyeing a footprint of 50 locations across India’s top five metros in the next three years. Built as a hybrid format of dine-in and delivery kitchens, the brand is chasing an ambitious Rs150 crore annual recurring revenue (ARR) target. The average bill: Rs 400 per person.
At the heart of the venture is a 50-item cosmopolitan menu that fuses global favourites with desi swagger—from Truffle Cacio-e-Pepe and Korean Spice to Tandoori Tikka and Chicken Keemalal. There’s even a cinematic special called the Pushpa Pizza, spicy enough to match its namesake’s fire.
Says Badshah: “Badboy Pizza is an extension of my personality — rooted, bold and real and this launch is special since I’ve always dreamt of having my own pizza chain! Drawing upon diverse culinary experiences from my travels over the years, my vision was to forge a brand that embodies international quality while resonating deeply with homegrown appeal. Partnering with Karan Tanna and Ghost Kitchens ensures we’re building not just a brand, but a truly world class and accessible culinary experience.”
The crust, however, is the true hero. Made with Italian flour and cold fermented for 48 hours, it promises that elusive combo of crispy outside and fluffy inside—a far cry from the usual QSR fare.
And the brand doesn’t stop at pizza. The menu includes garlic bread with butter chicken, spaghetti in bread bowls, flamboyant desserts like Fried Oreos with sea salt dark chocolate, and madcap sundaes in flavours such as Banaras Paan and Guava Masala.
The brand identity? Loud, rebellious and proudly Indie-an. Badboy Pizza’s packaging mimics smuggled contraband—zesty lime and purple boxes emblazoned with bold typography and the playful wink of Jugnu, the mischievous mascot who glows when things get bold. The boxes double up as collectible street-art souvenirs—because why should a pizza box be boring?
For Ghost Kitchens, the tie-up is a strategic masterstroke. Already home to brands like Starboy Pizza and Speak Burgers by Vicky Ratnani, the cloud-first company processes over 1.2 lakh orders monthly and is scaling fast after a $5 million Series A raise in 2024.
Tanna said, “Badboy Pizza is poised to be the most exciting QSR launch of the decade. The brand reimagines what scalable QSRs of the future will look like. Badshah’s ability to shape trends and influence youth culture gives this brand an unmatched edge. Together, we’re building the future of QSR experiences in India.”
India’s QSR market is surging—from $85.19 billion in 2025 to a projected $139.75 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 10.41 per cent, according to a press release issued by the company. The pizza segment alone is forecast to more than double to $11.8 billion by 2033.
With the hype machine firing on all cylinders, a menu that dares to be different, and cultural cues baked into every bite, Badboy Pizza isn’t just selling food. It’s building a movement.
And yes—this pizza really slaps.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
