CHRISTINE MACHADO | NT BUZZ
Most people know and love Mumbai’s iconic street food, the ‘vada pav’ but not many are aware of its humble origins, says director Sainath Uskaikar. It is this story that he brings to the screen in his new short film ‘My Dad Invented the Vadapav: Ashok Vaidya and Sons’, which premieres in the Goan Films section at the ongoing IFFI 56 on November 25.
Produced by BBP Studio Virtual Bharat, the idea for the film was first proposed by its founder Bharatbala, who wanted to create a project rooted in the essence of Mumbai. “When we started exploring this further, we realised that the ‘vada pav’ was the most obvious thing to focus on,” says Uskaikar, known for films like ‘Wagro’ and ‘Aasro’. Their research also revealed that the snack was not just a culinary creation but a response to a political moment.
“In the 1960s, when cotton mills began shutting down, many Marathi workers lost their jobs. Around that time, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Balasaheb Thackeray encouraged people to become self-reliant,” explains Uskaikar.
Among those inspired by this call was Ashok Vaidya, who worked at Dadar railway station selling newspapers and small goods. “He took the traditional Marathi ‘vada’ and paired it with a Goan ‘pao’ and that combination became the ‘vada pav’, which quickly became a hit,” says Uskaikar.
During the making of the film, the team discovered that Ashok’s son, Narendra, still runs the original stall outside Dadar station, with the trademark masala still prepared by Ashok’s wife. “Despite holding a postgraduate degree in commerce, Narendra continues the business to honour his father’s legacy,” says the director.
Although the family was cooperative throughout the shoot, filming at a busy railway station proved to be the biggest challenge. The film was completed in 2024.
“Today, the ‘vada pav’ ranks among the world’s 50 best sandwiches and is said to outsell McDonald’s in Mumbai,” says Uskaikar. “For a working class person who lost his job to create something like this is a serendipitous thing and is an example to the world that there is absolute hope if you only try.”
