After the streaming of Vikrant Massey-starrer OTT series Musafir Cafe, the Jharipani Castle in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, where the series was shot, suddenly came into the limelight. But, writer Divya Prakash Dubey says he never visited this cafe before the series. Interestingly, there are several Musafir Cafes in various parts of the country that have been inspired by the book that came out in 2015.
“It humbles me that a book, written inside a room, is inspiring people to open cafes as imagined in my story. I am getting a lot of feedback that people are further getting inspired to open cafes on the same concept – of course with their own interpretation,” says the dialogue writer of feature films PS1 (2022), PS2 (2023) and OTT series Dr Arora.
Dubey visited the Mussoorie cafe only during the recce. “I had been to Mussourie many times but had never been to this spot which perfectly matched the vibes I had imagined.”
He reveals how cafes on the concept have come up. “There is this Bir Musafir Cafe in Himanchal Pradesh which is inspired by the book’s cafe and the owner Gaurav Kushwaha met me in Mumbai. He left his corporate job to open his cafe. There is Musafir Cafe & Stay each in Ranikhet and Mukteshwar, Musafir Chai Cafe in Lucknow and one in Noida as well that I know of. Interestingly, I have not been to any of them but they contacted me on Instagram and some are still in touch.”
The writer says that he is getting DMs that people want to open a cosy cafe as in the show and book.
“Changing careers and opening a cafe is surely not an easy proposition. But, if someone has a passion for a cafe harbored in them and my pen inspires them to follow their dream then it’s God’s plan and he has made the book a catalyst.”
Dubey reveals, “It was a dream escapade for me when I was stuck in my corporate job drill. I guess it’s a very common dream to people stuck in daily grind to leave everything and open a cafe in the mountains and live a peaceful life reading and connecting with people. That’s how the concept came to me when I started writing. As the tagline of my book says: Hum sab zindagi mein apna Musafir Cafe dhoond rahe hai jahan humen pahunch ke ghar jaise lage.”
The show stars Vikrant, Vedika Pinto, Mahima Makwana, Rajeev Siddhartha, Adil Hussain, Sadiya Siddiqui and others. The writer has also featured in the show briefly as a storyteller. He is now coming up with an English version of the book.