“Chai! Chai! Chai! Chai! Aap aksar sunti ho gayi local train mein ya apni gali zaroor agar koi bechta hoga. Toh lekin Radio City 91.1 par aaj do khaas mehman hamare saath…”

(Chai! Chai! Chai! Chai! You’ll often hear this from someone on the local train or on your street. But today on Radio City 91.1. we have two special guests…)

So began our Hindi radio debut on one of Mumbai’s highest rated morning talk shows, Kasa Kai Mumbai on Radio City 91.1 FM. Just as millions in the Maximum City were drinking their first cup of the day or sitting stuck in rush hour traffic, we chatted with hosts and Salil Acharya and Archana Pania about Bollywood and where to get the best cup of chai in Mumbai.

Listen to the full interview here:

The spicy masala chai served in the Radio City studio was just what we needed to get our brains into Hindi mode. (The hosts had warned us their audience gets turned off by even a few words in English and the studio’s walls are plastered with papers reminding radio jockeys: “WATCH LANGUAGE. HINDI.”)

After commenting on our favorite film of the season, Ram-Leela, we gave a shout out to two of our favorite Mumbai chai wallahs: Santosh and Rajendra.

Santosh, Pandurang Budhkar Marg outside Kamala Mills back entrance, Lower Parel

Santosh now runs Janta Seva Hindu Hotel, the tea stall where he has been working for the past 15 years since he was a boy. We were tipped off to Santosh by Joanna Lobo, a reporter at the newspaper Daily News & Analysis, or DNA, when she was writing a piece on our chai project.

“Most of the DNA staff would go to his stall every day,” she said, recalling how she and her colleagues would gossip about office politics over cups of Santosh’s gingery chai. DNA has since moved to a new office complex about twenty minutes away, which has imposed a change in caffeine consumption patterns – there is a Starbucks in the lobby and chai wallahs are prohibited from entering the complex. This has caused a crisis among the DNA staff.

“The whole profession of journalism revolves around people drinking chai and having smokes,” Joanna said. “[Santosh’s] chai is worth the walk, but we just don’t have time.”

Joanna mused about the possibility of getting permission for him to deliver. If she can arrange it, Santosh said, he would be happy to oblige. But he would need someone to do the delivery for him – his stand is usually busy with at least 50 customers waiting for a hot cup of his special ginger chai.

Rajendra and Baskar, B Keer Marg opposite Paradise Cinema, Mahim

Forget Deepika and Ranveer. The hottest couple in town is chai and vada pav – a love marriage made for Mumbai.

Rajendra (accidentally referred to as Santosh in the interview) and Baskar have been celebrating this relationship for the past 20 years. The two set up their businesses side-by-side – Rajendra selling chai, Baskar selling vada pav – under the same tarpaulin on a shaded sidewalk in Mahim.

Most customers come for their routine cup of chai, but once they get a whiff of spiced batata vadas frying, it is hard for them to resist Rajendra’s cry: “Chai piyo, vada pav khao!” Drink chai and eat vada pav!

Rajendra’s chai operation began first. In 1991 he started the tea stall with his father who had lost his job in a garment factory when Mumbai’s mills began to close. A few years after, Baskar set up shop next to Rajendra, making an assortment of fried snacks including samosas and pakodas. Of course, his best seller is vada pav – a mashed potato patty laden with ginger, garlic, chillies, onions and spices, coated in seasoned besan, or chickpea flour, then deep-fried and sandwiched in a soft bun smeared with spicy mint, coconut or tamarind chutney.

Rajaram Prasad, who works at a nearby construction site building a high-rise condominium, has been enjoying Rajendra’s chai and Baskar’s vada pav every day since he began working at the site several months ago. Originally from Bihar, Rajaram replaces traditional Bihari snacks like litti chokha with Mumbai favorites. “I take this vada pav two times day,” said Rajaram during a recent morning break. “Then after each one I drink chai.”

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Foolingyou, a clown based in Mumbai, poses for our Ek Shabd photo series.

MUMBAI – ”I’m Happy,” the man with a big red nose introduces himself. “Happy Foolingyou.”

Mr. Foolingyou, whose website claims he is “The first ‘INDIAN’ clown,” has been clowning around professionally in Mumbai for 15 years. “Before that I was in the Navy. There were a lot of clowns there too,” he jokes.

Just as the chai wallah is an essential figure in modern India, “the maskara or vidushak has played a key role throughout Indian history,” Mr. Foolingyou explains, using the Hindi words for clown. “He was the jester who would make the king laugh. The one guy who could tell jokes and not get slaughtered. He was the village buffoon and would serve as the king’s spy since he could get people to talk and no one would take him seriously.”

Mr. Foolingyou sprinkles his acts with a little social activism. One of his characters is named Chukka Chuk, which he says means “squeaky clean.” He goes to low-income communities and teaches students about proper hygiene and sanitation practices. “Being a clown is not just shaking my butt. It is teaching kids and families while bringing joy into their lives.”

Among his incarnations are Happy TOYBANKER, who brings donated toys to poor neighborhoods, Dr. Laff A Lot, who visits sick children in hospitals, and Indian Maharaja, the self-proclaimed “KING of magic.”

We asked Mr. Foolingyou what the first word he thinks of when he hears the word “chai.” Ever the joker with a social message to share, Mr. Foolingyou responded, “Pani!” 

“Chai-pani” literally means “tea-water” in Hindi, but it is widely used as a phrase for a bribe, representative of the petty corruption that is rampant in India. If you want to avoid a ticket after being stopped by a cop or want to get your file to the top at a bureaucratic office building, you might be asked to give a little “chai-pani,” just enough to buy a round of tea or two.

For more stories of what chai means to people from various walks of life in India, visit our Ek Shabd gallery.

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Balwan Singh Negi, who goes by the name Bahadur, has been serving chai on Bollywood sets for the past 40 years.

From behind the scenes, Bollywood’s spot boys keep the industry going. They move equipment on set, keep gawking crowds out of shots, perform odd jobs as needed, and of course, make and serve the chai that gives actors the boost they need to film the same scenes over and over.

When we told security we had come to see Mr. Negi, known affectionately as Bahadur, a guard replied, “Oh, that is a very senior man you have come to see!” We were whisked past Kareena’s entourage and beyond a table with a thermos labeled “VIP Tea,” to the side of a film prop warehouse where Bahadur was stirring a pot of boiling milk.

“Yes, you have come to see me so let me tell you everything,” the 62-year-old Bahadur said, bubbling with energy. “I make tea for all the isstars. Some want black tea. Some want ginger. But, my dear, most want my masala chai. The VIPs come here and say, ‘We need our special chai’ so I put some in this ‘VIP’ flask, but I will tell you a secret – it is the same chai, just with a little less sugar. You know, my dear, everyone is on a diet today. All the high-class artists want green tea these days.”

We had heard as much. At a recent movie shoot in Dharavi, reportedly Asia’s largest slum, Chhotu, the set chai wallah, told us masala chai is going out of fashion in Bollywood. The shift is being led by the largest legend in the industry, Amitabh Bachchan. “I just bring Amitabh Ji hot water, then he makes green tea in his trailer,” Chhotu said.

The green tea trend is evident the morning we visit Bahadur in Film City. The advertisement being filmed with Kareena Kapoor Khan is for Tata Tetley’s Green Tea brand.

Kareena Kapoor Khan on the set of her ad for Tata Tetley Green Tea.

Bahadur’s story may sound familiar to aspiring American actors who come to make it in Hollywood only to find themselves waiting tables. He left his village in Uttaranchal in 1971 at the age of 20 and came to Mumbai with dreams of silver screen success. “I loved films for the art,” he said. “I didn’t want to be a hero. I just wanted to act.”

A spot boy taking a break next to Bahadur suggests he could try out for a role as a mama, an elderly uncle figure. “He can do it. He’s a rock star!” shouts another.

But Bahadur says the passion is gone. “Junoon katam ho gaya. I love the job I have.”

After three years without landing any roles on screen, Bahadur found work as a spot boy on Jai Santoshi Maa, a low-budget film that became one of Bollywood’s biggest blockbusters. In 1980, he met a young director named Subhash Ghai and worked on one of his first films, Karz, about an unjustly murdered man who is reincarnated and wreaks vengeance. The film became a hit and Ghai’s career took off. Bahadur has been with him every step of the way, working on Ghai’s sets throughout India and around the world. “I have worked on films in Africa, London, New Zealand, Bangkok, Indonesia, Singapore, everywhere,” he says, showing off the stamps in his passport. “But everywhere I go I make Indian isstyle tea.”

Ghai said Bahadur brings an uncanny positive energy to the set. “He’s been with me more than 30 years now and he hasn’t slowed down a bit.” Indeed, it is hard to keep up with Bahadur as he rushes around the set, bringing cups of tea to production assistants one minute, putting away a spotlight the next.

“My nickname is Superfast,” he says, beckoning us to hasten our pace. “When I arrived in Bombay, I had so much energy. I would stay in Santacruz and walk everyday to the production offices in Churchgate [about 20 kilometers].”

After the Kareena Kapoor Khan ad shoot ends, Bahadur sets up for the afternoon. Subhash Ghai is filming a few final scenes for his forthcoming Kaanchi, starring Rishi Kapoor, Kartik Tiwari and up-and-coming Bengali actress Mishti.

We trailed Bahadur as he kept the crew caffeinated between shots. At one point Ghai stood on set, scratching his head. Something was missing. Apparently it was us. He called us over and asked if we would like to be in a scene. Of course we would. A line producer handed Zach a guitar and instructed him to play. Rishi Kapoor put his arm around Resham, said a few words on a cell phone as he stroked her hair, then put his face close to hers as Ghai’s voice boomed, “And scene!” It all had the makings of movie magic.

Zach Marks and Resham Gellatly on the set of ‘Kaanchi’ with director Subhash Ghai.

We were high on our 15 minutes of Bollywood fame. But for Bahadur, it was just another day on the job. “It used to be very exciting, the movie making process, but now it is nothing special. I don’t even recognize the faces anymore. Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, whichever Kapoor, it does not matter,” he said, rattling off names of one of Bollywood’s most prominent families. “I am doing my job, they are doing their job. Sometimes I don’t even know the name of the picture I am working on.”

Bahadur waxes philosophical about stardom and the evolving nature of the industry. “The famous actors and actresses are all nice. The problem is they have to work all day and all night and it makes them unhappy and upset. That gets misconstrued in the press as them being snobby or arrogant, but that’s not it. They are just under a lot of stress.” He suggests celebrities are not really happy. “How can they be? There is too much pressure today. It is a reflection of society. Everywhere in the world people are working so hard and life has become so stressful.”

Actor Rishi Kapoor checks his hair on the set of ‘Kaanchi’ in Mumbai’s Film City.

Bahadur says he is content not to be one of these stressed stars. But he clearly still has a love for the camera. When we ask to film him serving chai, he perks up and snaps into action. He rushes to a spot boy taking a break and theatrically thrusts a cup of tea and a biscuit at him. The spot boy protests that he has already eaten and does not want the biscuit. “Just take it!” Bahadur yells, drawing laughs from the crowd that has gathered.

A few yards away, Kareena Kapoor Khan stands alone waiting for filming to resume. In the meantime, Bahadur has stolen the show.

The post Bollywood Chai: Behind the Scenes with a Legend appeared first on Chai Wallahs of India.