While OTT platforms are full of crime dramas and thrillers along with extravagant concepts, Musafir Cafe took a different path to win hearts. Featuring Vikrant Massey, Vedika Pinto, and Mahima Makwana, the show on Netflix placed regular relationships and deep emotions at the forefront. As far as its producer Vijay Subramaniam is concernedhe believes that the success of the show proves that there is no need to go out of the way to make audiences glued to shows. Speaking to Hindustan Times, Vijay, Founder, and Group CEO of Collective Artists Network, opened up about what made him immediately back Musafir Cafe, why its characters feel so relatable and how the series was planned as a multi-season story from the very beginning.
Why Musafir Cafe was an instant yes
Vijay’s connection with the world behind Musafir Cafe began when he acquired Terribly Tiny Tales around two to three years ago. His broader vision was to give its writers and creators the freedom to advance their ideas without being constrained by conventional expectations. When the concept for Musafir Cafe reached him, it was the story’s simplicity that caught his attention.
“I’ve always believed in the ideas that they’ve had as a community of writers and creators over the last decade. That prompted me to acquire them in the first place. When our internal films team got the idea of the book and shared it with the creator of the show, Shara at TTT, they came to me with it. I just felt that there isn’t enough content being made about regular people’s stories,” he tells HT.
What appealed to him was the fact that the show did not try to turn its characters or situations into something extraordinary. Instead, it found emotion in relationships that viewers could recognise from their own lives.
Vijay further adds, “If you see Musafir Cafe, where people say it’s a love story, the reason why it’s worked is, I think, every single person has lived some part of that, some part of one of the three characters. It’s as real a story as it can get. And I think that’s what really appealed to me — that this wasn’t this big, fancy show with any large production. It was just simple human relationships and relationship dramas. Whether you see the relationship between the mothers, or the relationship between the two owners of the guest house and the way they behave with the protagonist, I just feel at every point, every relationship was very simply written, very riveting and yet very relatable. So I think it was an instant yes. I didn’t even think twice before telling them to go for it.”
Musafir Cafe was always planned as a multi-season story
While the announcement of a second season has been welcomed by viewers, Vijay reveals that continuing the story was not something the team decided only after seeing the show’s response. From the writing stage itself, Musafir Cafe was being developed with more than one season in mind.
“We in always thought that it will be a multiple seasons. In fact, as the writing was progressing, we were blessed that the team at Netflix also was equally excited as us. So even they kind of always envisaged this as a multi-season format. So I think I think the fact that we got into such a good rhythm right from the writer room and I think everyone was making this show with a very very clear intent of this being multi-season. I think that’s what rel so I don’t I mean while it’s announced we always you know from the time we started writing the show and started developing the show we always knew that this will be a multi-season show,” he adds.
The early renewal also means viewers will not have to wonder whether the story will remain unfinished after the first season’s emotional turns. The makers had already imagined a larger journey for the characters. However, when asked about the production timeline for Season 2, Vijay offered a short and rather playful response. On when the new season would go on floors, he said, “We have we have we have been told ASAP.”
‘Not everything needs to be grand’
For Vijay, the response to Musafir Cafe reinforces an idea he has held for some time: streaming audiences still have room for stories that are intimate, uncomplicated and driven by human emotion. He feels the industry can sometimes become too focused on scale when a well-told story can be just as effective.
“I think for every large story that you hear, it’s always good to have, like I said, I think what really attracted me about the whole thought of the show was just the simplicity of the show. You know what I’m saying? That really stayed with me, and it stayed with me big time. I just think that not enough time is being spent in just telling simple stories. Not everything needs to be grand, not everything needs to be a visual spectacle, and not everything needs to be high-octane alpha energy, both male and female. Sometimes, you want to just… I mean, the best way I describe Musafir Cafe is monsoons under a blanket, a hot cup of tea with your curtains closed, and you’re just watching it. That’s the best way for me to describe it,” Vijay explains how he felt about the series.
“I feel the feeling that you get by watching Musafir Cafe is very visceral. It’s not superficial. The reason why the show did well, I think, is that it’s connected with hearts very organically and without trying too hard. There is no overtone on the performances. It’s just great performances, very simple writing, amazing music and stories which all of us can relate to,” he adds.
About Musafir Cafe
Musafir Cafe is created and penned by Sharanya Rajgopal and directed by Ruchir Arun. The series draws inspiration from the characters in the book written by Divya Prakash Dubey. Alongside Vikrant Massey, Vedika Pinto and Mahima Makwana, the cast includes Adil Hussain, Rajeev Siddhartha, Anubha Fatehpuria, Loveleen Mishra and Sadia Siddiqui.