TOI: Anas Rashid in MasterChef India

The reclusive Anas Rashid, who plays the lead character of Sooraj Rathi in the popular serialDiya Aur Baati Hum, will be shooting as a celebrity judge for MasterChef India at RK Studios in Mumbai today.

Anas — who plays a chef in the TRP garnering show — will ask the contestants to make desserts. "I will be giving them tasks. I might ask them to make desserts sans sugar or mawa. This will test their capability as a chef," saidAnas, who also went to the Delhi auditions of the cookry show and was amazed to see his popularity.

He might also show his skills on the show by making jalebis. "I plan to give them life lessons on why life is like a jalebi — crispy and sweet but complicated," Anas, who used to prepare food for his hotel Mehraab in hometown Malerkotla before he made it big in the television industry, said.

Ask him whether he likes to be known as a chef, thanks to the show, and he says, "Earlier I felt awkward when people used to think of me as a halwai. But since I have graduated to a chef after winning a contest in Singapore as part of the show, I feel good. When I went to Delhi, people didn't identify with me as an actor, but as a chef," the shy actor said a tad proudly.