Shark Tank India: 5 most controversial remarks by Ashneer Grover and sharks!

Pic Courtesy: Instagram

New Delhi: The dateline is out, and Shark Tank India, season 2 is hitting our television screens on 2nd January 2022. The excitement and meme fest created by the first season is still remembered by many. 

The Sharks were always very vocal about their views, and expressed clearly whether they loved an idea or did not find potential in it. Often times there were heated interactions with the entrepreneurs and the Sharks minced no words to put across the final verdict. 

Ashneer Grover, one of the sharks developed a reputation so fierce that he was the most feared shark. But others too had their moments. Here are some of the most scathing remarks by the Sharks in season one, that gave the masala to the gossip mills for a long time.

You remind me of Shakaal - Ashneer Grover
For the uninitiated, Shakaal was the Hindi film villain in the 70s, who had sharks in his swanky abode and fed his enemies to them. Drawing parallels, Ashneer remarked how one of the contestants, Sanandan Sudhir, who was bald, reminded him of this villain who was bald too. The sharks joked that Sanandan too tried to feed the Sharks of Shark Tank India and get the needed funding at a valuation, which as per them was not justified. However, Sanandan, the inventor of the fastest cooking device On2Cook that saves 70% of cooking time and 50% of energy with the combination of microwave and induction/flame cooking, recently secured seed funding at the same 100 crore valuation. While they dissed and seemed uninterested, the product, ideal for domestic as well as commercial kitchens, has done fairly well and was a grand success at Gulf Host 2022 event in Dubai.

‘Tum Khatam hone Wale ho, teen deegriyan waste ki hain’- Ashneer Grover
The Sharks got frustrated when they came to know about the equity break up of Falhari, a company founded by Gulshan Sharma, Rahul Shankar Bhardwaj, Shantanu Singh. One of the founders had 75% while the other had just 1.5%. Aghast on knowing the situation, the sharks who were ready with cheques took their offers back. Gulshan was featured on Forbes 30 under 30, Asia for his innovative services- Falhari, a startup that delivers fresh fruit boxes, cold-pressed juice along with yogurt which is customised according to the nutritional needs of the user and delivered in 45 minutes. Though it is an award-winning product, the Sharks seemed unimpressed. The trio was looking for Rs 60 lakh in exchange for 2% equity. Ashneer went so far as to say that a fruit stall outside ITO will do better business. In his trademark style, he blurted how it is a failed business already and the three are wasting their degrees. 

‘This is a solution looking for a problem’- Anupam
When Anupam exclaimed this about Rohit Warrier’s product- Sippline glass ka mask, all the Sharks agreed. His product, a sterilised plastic ring creates a barrier between the lips and the glass shielding you from all the germs.The dramatic founder made an even more dramatic entry when he came on stage and spoke about how dirty glasses have germs and bacteria on them and also lipstick marks in worst cases. While Aman seemed mockingly interested, Ashneer bashed the founder saying that he wasted this opportunity when somebody else could have been standing here with their vision, and this platform should be respected. 

‘Business toh India mein hai but pricing Italian hai’- Aman
Niti Singhal, founder of Twee in One came up with a concept of designing sustainable products where one dress can be turned into another one, saving not just money but also space in the luggage. It is also perfect for office-going people who dress up formally during the day and need to change for an after-office event or party. Such dresses can drastically change from one look to another and make you party-ready within a minute. Other sharks showed their disinterest citing previous studies where such products haven’t been popular amongst users or only one aspect of the dress is liked and used by them. Namita and Vineeta shared the same thought about being too finicky to like the combination of the dresses. Piyush found the numbers to be too low while Aman found the price to be a little too high.

However, the facepalm moment happened on ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ when Ashneer’s wife, Madhuri appeared on the show in Twee in One dress that was gifted to him by the founder during the pitch.