A Brown Apprentice?? - Sepia Mutiny

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August 27, 2004

A Brown Apprentice??

If anyone has the juice on this guy, then hit me up. From Reuters:

Who will be this year’s Omarosa, everyone’s favorite reality TV villain? Who will be the apprentice to rise to the top of the business world? And importantly, who will hear the ominous utterance of real estate mogul Donald Trump, “You’re fired?”

Fans will know soon, as broadcaster NBC on Friday named the 18 candidates who will compete in the second season of “The Apprentice,” premiering on Sept. 9.

The men are: Kevin, 29, a law student from Chicago; Raj, 28, a real estate developer in the tiny ski resort of Vail ; Bradford, 33, a lawyer and real estate investor from Florida; Rob, 32, a corporate products salesman from Texas; Andy, 23, a new Harvard graduate from Florida; Wes, 28, a financial planner for the wealthy from Atlanta; Chris, 30, a stockbroker from Long Island with only a high school degree; and John, 24, a marketer from San Francisco.

From another source:

Raj, 28, a bow-tie wearing real estate developer who doesn’t really watch television

Now we will really see if a brown man can make it through the glass ceiling maintained by “the Man” (a.k.a. Trump).

Update: Take a look. Is this guy South Asian? Maybe a mix, or just an Indian sounding name?

Update #2: Here is the Full Scoop on Raj Bhakta of Vail Colorado.

POSTED BY abhi @ 12:02 PM

27 comments

1 · Anonymous on August 27, 2004 2:10 PM · Direct link

More info on Raj of the Apprentice can be found on Friendster:

http://www.friendster.com/user.php?uid=11498848

2 · Abhi on August 27, 2004 2:18 PM · Direct link

Careful though before you read too much into it. The Friendster profile is a fugazi. It's an "official profile" created for marketing purposes.

Official Profile Official Profiles are created by Friendster or our partners. By becoming a fan of an Official Profile, you will be tapped into the real source of news and information about your favorite person or character. You can also meet up with other fans who share your interests.

If you see [symbol] in User Search or on a profile, you can link yourself to that profile through the Become a Fan link. This will list you as a fan on that Official Profile and the Official Profile will be listed on your profile as well. This way other fans can find you and share in your interest.

3 · EOFIA on August 27, 2004 2:42 PM · Direct link

sigh. brown people don't always "look" brown. my friend raj (not the apprentice candidate, obviously) who is ALSO from philly, looked even "less brown" than this Raj, even though he was 100% maharashtrian. this ethnic ambiguity did, however, get him on TV for his 5 seconds of fame when he was featured on "am i hot or not".

he looks "brown" enough to me. i'm going to root for him just because he wears bow-ties, so i am not particularly worried about how many drops of south asian blood he carries...

p.s. when you "preview" your comment, it shows up in black ink on dark brown background-- very difficult to read unless highlighted...just thought you might want to know.

4 · Manish Vij on August 27, 2004 3:05 PM · Direct link

EOFIA, comment template fixed. You can ink me later.

5 · Abhi on August 27, 2004 3:06 PM · Direct link

EOFIA,
I was being politically incorrect on purpose. My cousin has blue eyes and doesn't "look South Asian" either despite being 100% Indian. Remember on the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire", how Carlton was always accused of being white because he wore bow-ties among other reasons? SepiaMutiny enjoys its own snarkyness.

6 · gc on August 27, 2004 7:29 PM · Direct link

the other possibility is that Raj was named by hippies. You know, like "Chandra" Levy.

7 · anonymous on September 7, 2004 11:35 AM · Direct link

I knew Raj in college and couldn't believe it when i saw that he is going to be on the apprentice. Yes, he is indian but in college hung out with the Eurotrash crew in Boston. My most interesting memory of him was a Sunday evening. I went over to Raj's apartment with my friend who dated his best friend and roomate for years. Raj was wearing (I am not kidding) a smoking jacket, an ascot, pajama pants and velvet slippers. he was drinking scotch out of a crystal glass and was watching the financial news. He was 20 years old. Unbelievable. And by the way, he really is as cocky as he sounds in interviews. Can't wait to watch on Thursday!

8 · Ben C. on September 7, 2004 1:05 PM · Direct link

They got the Apprenticers profiles on Frenster. He don't look indian to me.

9 · Manish Vij on September 8, 2004 6:45 PM · Direct link

Raj Bhakta may be a conservative, no surprise:

Raj, a preppy real estate developer who wears bow ties and brick-red trousers, objects to his team's choice of a name, Mosaic, dismissing it scornfully as too "politically correct." It could be that Raj was merely channeling the sentiments of the show's producers.

10 · Sonal on September 10, 2004 1:42 AM · Direct link

Came across your site..Raj is half Indian. His mom is Irish. His dad is from Gujarat. I read it in a Vail online newspaper. Just google his name it's real easy..Bye!

Damn right he's Indian! Just like Norah Jones

11 · Sonal on September 10, 2004 1:44 AM · Direct link

Oops sorry his LAST NAME IS Raj Bhakta..he's indian alright

12 · C&C on September 10, 2004 1:21 PM · Direct link

Raj did well for himself last night in spite of the teasing from Trump over his bow tie and cane. The great brown hope, perhaps?

13 · Sluggo on September 10, 2004 8:28 PM · Direct link

I'm kind of of put off by Raj, it's one thing to be confident, another just to be jerk...but you never know if they are actually showing you the real person on these reality shows....

14 · KXB on September 12, 2004 2:40 PM · Direct link

Raj came across as a bit of a schmuck. If he demonstrate some skill or talent, I'll look past his pimp-gear.

15 · Priya Bhakta on September 15, 2004 1:35 PM · Direct link

Yes of course I know the juice on Raj Bhakta he is my brother.

16 · ~Cj~ on September 20, 2004 5:42 PM · Direct link

I think he's quite an interesting person, obviously not everyone's cup of tea, but I honestly think he's got a good chance at winning this, just because he's an intelligent person.... Different personality from most ppl.... that's all...
I'm rootin for him all the way...

plus, he's quite hot in my opinion....

17 · Truffle on October 17, 2004 7:30 PM · Direct link

So Priya,
What is the scoop on your brother? Is he lucky with the ladies? Is it true he gave a speech about masturbation when he was in high school? Is he really hypoglycemic?

18 · brimful on October 18, 2004 10:24 AM · Direct link

He made it into VH1's Best Week Ever for being a fan of the ladies... but they made fun of his bowtie exhaustively.

19 · Super Jagjit on November 10, 2004 12:37 AM · Direct link

For those who may have missed it, Raj Bhakta was fired on last week's episode of The Apprentice.

Here's a summary of his performance.

20 · Raj on November 11, 2004 4:05 PM · Direct link

i am a fan of Raj ... mainly because my name is Raj too ... his fancy words and old school dress, there is no doubt he's a ladies man!! One day i hope to be like him; both intelligent and smooth!! even if he got fired, he's still my hero!! lol

21 · Anonymous on November 11, 2004 4:49 PM · Direct link

Good Job...Raj...Thanks for working hard... You will be sucessful.... !!

22 · judy on December 2, 2004 5:20 PM · Direct link

I am just curious when Mr. Trump said "he is different than us" ..."He dresses different... looks different" about Raj, what did he mean? Everybody is different why did Mr. Trump singled Raj? I felt the comments were racial he is different than us looks different

23 · Fellow Fan on December 6, 2004 1:53 PM · Direct link

He's started his own political grassroots organization. Check it out at www.advancerepublic.org.

24 · Apul Patel on January 12, 2005 1:27 AM · Direct link

Unfortunately, the upcoming third iteration of The Apprentice does not appear to have any South Asian contestants:

The Apprentice Candidates

25 · minyas on March 17, 2005 7:57 AM · Direct link

he smart,but when he get fired,is a great lose for his team-mate

26 · Sam on March 28, 2005 11:19 AM · Direct link

most responders here i see are of Indian origin. so no wondor they are rooting for raj.

27 · kirin on May 28, 2005 3:52 PM · Direct link

oh i think raj from the apprentice is pretty hot looking,despite the dress sense.i think he looks real sharp in his dark suits and combed wavy hair.he has every reason to be a ladykiller..he's got the looks,attitude and gentleman like behavior to make many a woman swoon..and regardless of his 50%indian blood only, its great to see a south asian on screen..hey,we probably all are indirectly or directly related to other races cause of our ancestors

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