‘Maybe You Want to Revise the Way You Say That’: Woman Approached an Indian Man at a Restaurant to Tell Him He Did Not Smell Like Curry, He Responded With Perfect Composure

An X post from @RajeevSharma00 shared a video showing a woman approaching an Indian man eating with his family at a restaurant.

In the exchange that follows, the woman interrupts the meal by saying, "Excuse me sir, you smell quite nice for an Indian man." When the man asked her to repeat herself, she said, "You smell quite nice for an Indian man. You don't smell like curry." The woman made a racist remark referencing a stereotype about Indian people's scent.

The man asked, "Is that intended to be a compliment?" The woman replied, "Yes, quite." He responded, "It's actually not," to which she said, "No, that's odd. You smell quite nice for an Indian man." He told her, "Okay, that's very odd the way you say that. Maybe you want to revise the way you say that." She replied, "Okay," before walking away from the table.

The X user who shared the video said the comment was disrespectful regardless of the woman's claim that it was a compliment. He said the man was dining with his daughters and remained composed throughout the interaction, adding, "You can tell that hurt him a little bit."

The man's response showed restraint he didn't think he would have been able to match himself, saying, "He's trying to be a good example in front of his kids," and adding that he believed most people would have reacted less calmly to being approached that way in front of their children.

Several replies questioned the basis of the stereotype altogether. One commenter wrote, "Where does such things even come from!?!? What smelling got to do with Indians who bath daily!?!? It doesn't even make sense. Internet slop has emboldened idiots whose own family and friends don't even care about. Just stupid folks."

Another traced the stereotype to colonial times. They wrote, "That accent sounds like a Brit. That's where the curry slur took its birth [sic]. Funny thing there's nothing called curry in any of cuisines in subcontinent. It's above and beyond time we keep giving sharp responses. I'm glad he did."

The X user then talked about similar racist remarks aimed at Indian people, describing the "over lived" nature of such comments toward Indian people generally. The user suggested the woman sought attention online through such interactions, though this characterization could not be independently confirmed.

Another praised the man's composed reaction. They wrote, "It's commendable how he responded. In a restaurant, people would be the relaxed self and would fumble this. I would have fumbled and then got the perfect retort in the shower the next day!"

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the identities of those involved in this video, or confirm the claims made about the woman's other online content referenced by the person who shared the clip.