With the second season of the OTT series Musafir Cafe officially on the cards, actor Mahima Makwana confirms that pre-production including the scripting is currently underway. “Yes, it couldn’t have gotten more exciting with the official announcement having been made. Preparations have already started, and it is in the pre-production stage. I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds with the core characters, Chander, Sudha and Preeti coming back once more.”

Reflecting on her experience working alongside Vikrant Massey, Makwana highlights their strong off-screen rapport.

She shares, “Vikrant is an incredible artist and human. We have worked together earlier, so we shared common thoughts on so many things. The characters we play are evolved as humans, and to portray them well on screen, there has to be maturity in the bonding that actors share; I shared that with Vikrant.”

On how she views her journey from TV to films and, more recently, to OTT—and whether it has gotten tougher, she notes, “It’s all about how one perceives things. As an individual grows, it becomes important to realise that the journey is supposed to be a roller coaster; whatever phases you live, always know it’s all transient. I enjoy whatever comes my way. It may have started from TV for me way back in 2008 (Mohe Rang De) as a child artiste, when we all were glued to television screens with limited content, to OTT with so much happening it’s all part of my journey.”

Addressing the long-standing conversations around industry dynamics, Makwana adds, “The insider-outsider debate is done with. Let’s not pay heed to this debate altogether; we all know how the world functions. If we look around, we would realize that only a fraction of people working in our industry belong to a film background. And if anybody has an advantage, not using it would be a fool. My focus is to have blinkers and keep moving.”

Looking ahead, the actor reveals, “There is a film that will be announced soon, Musafir Cafe 2 is already under pre-production, and there is another really special announcement that will be a surprise for all.”

Movies and shows have a way of turning fictional worlds into real-life destinations. From Rancho-inspired cafés in Leh after 3 Idiots (2009) to fans seeking out Friends’ iconic Central Perk, screen locations often become tourist attractions in their own right.

Now, fans of Netflix’s Musafir Cafe can step into the world of the show as Vikrant Massey, who plays Chander, has begun work on two real-life Musafir Cafés — one in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and another in Uttarakhand — with his wife, Sheetal Thakur.

A source close to the development said the cafés are being designed along the lines of the one featured in the series. “Work has already begun on it. The idea is to recreate the café seen in the show, along with spaces where artists can stay and work. Around 20 rooms are being designed as residencies for artists,” said the source.

Massey said the idea took shape after the “euphoric response we got for the show”. While fans initially suggested that he open a Musafir Café in the hills, the actor was aware that “as fan service, several Musafir Cafés were already built after Divya Prakash Dubey’s book Musafir Café, [from which the series has been adapted], hit the shelf a decade ago”.

“I was chatting with Divya, Sharanya Rajgopal [show creator], and Vijay Subramaniam [founder of Collective Artistes Network] about how it would be a great idea to recreate the on-screen experience of the show in real life,” explained the actor.

The cafés will offer food, coffee, books, and spaces for visitors to unwind amid nature. Massey hopes they will give people a chance to escape the “hustle and bustle and chaos of the city” and work on projects. He plans to launch the cafés by “summer next year”. 

- Central Perk Coffeehouse in Boston (American sitcom ‘Friends’)

- Twede’s Café in North Bend, Washington (‘Twin Peaks’, 1990)

- Polka Café in Anantnag, Kashmir (Vijay’s ‘Leo’, 2023)

- SH Khan Restaurant on Leh’s Mall Road (‘Dhurandhar’, 2025)

Romance is on Vedika Pinto’s mind, especially after the love she has received for Netflix’s Musafir Café. While she is open to any story that “resonates” with her, she is keen to explore romance and comedy. “I’d love to do more romance,” she says.

As she navigates the industry, Pinto is also learning to deal with its treatment of newcomers. Recalling how a filmmaker scoffed at her for asking for a script, she says, “Not long ago, there was a film on the table, and I remember asking for a script. But he told my management, ‘Acha, isko lagta hai yeh itni badi actress ban gayi hai ki yeh script maang rahi hai?’ And I was thinking it’s not about being [entitled], this is my job as an actor’.”

The experience reminded her of how filmmaker Anurag Kashyap made her read the script of Nishaanchi (2025), when she was only two films old.

“I wouldn’t trade that relationship for anything,” smiles the actor. “I read the script of Nishaanchi two-and-a-half years before it was made. Nishaanchi took so long to get made because he went to a lot of places [to get collaborators]. Several producers said they would love to make the movie, but with a star name. Platforms suggested that he take alternate talent, but he was fixated on Aaishvary [Thackeray] and me. He said, ‘I will make this movie when I get to make it with my cast’.”

Sometimes, one decision and 10 months is all it takes for life to change. As it did in the case of Vedika Pinto. Today, almost everyone recognises her as the feisty Sudha of Musafir Cafe. That’s a marked difference from last September when she earned positive reviews for her performance in Anurag Kashyap’s Nishaanchi (2025), but the two-part film went unnoticed by the audience. Even then, when the Netflix series came her way, she knew that the perfect sounding board would be her last director.

Talking to mid-day, Pinto recalled, “Before I signed Musafir Cafe, I called AK to tell him about it. In typical AK style, he asked, ‘Story kya hai? What’s your role? Who is directing it?’ Five questions later, he asked about my co-star and the platform. Then he said that I must do it. That’s the beautiful thing about him — even if his own taste is different, he supported me so much [with this show].”

Today, she couldn’t be happier about leading Musafir Cafe along with Vikrant Massey and Mahima Makwana. It has given her something that her last movie couldn’t.

“Nishaanchi opened many doors for me because the industry believes that if you’ve worked in an Anurag Kashyap film, you must be a good actor. But I didn’t get the audience’s appreciation. With Musafir Cafe, we’re getting so much love. So, I have one project that backs me as an actor and another that has the audience’s love,” she smiled.

The kind of work calls that Pinto is receiving has also changed after Ruchir Arun’s series. “After Nishaanchi, directors mentioned that they’d like to collaborate with me, but it was open ended. Now, those conversations have changed because there is proof of concept that viewers like this [actor].”

Vedika Pinto was nervous about working with Vikrant Massey. “He is a National Award winner after all,” she exclaimed, before calling him “a generous actor”. “We formed a beautiful working relationship. We had this ritual — whenever we felt stuck with a scene, we’d say, ‘Let’s play!’ Whenever we did it, something wonderful came out,” she said.

Adapting Musafir Cafe, author Divya Prakash Dubey’s popular novel, wasn’t about recreating every page on screen. When directing the love story’s screen adaptation, Ruchir Arun knew he had to preserve one aspect over everything else — the honesty that made the novel resonate with readers.

“When my writer and showrunner, Sharanya [Rajgopal], first brought the project to me, what struck me first were the characters’ names — Chander, Sudha, and Preeti. These old-world names instantly made them feel like people I had known all my life. I wanted to ensure that these characters’ simplicity and the authenticity of their relationships translated perfectly to screen,” recalled Arun.

Led by Vikrant Massey, Mahima Makwana, and Vedika Pinto, the Netflix series traces the journey of the protagonist Chander across two phases of his life. For Arun, casting Massey was a no-brainer.

The director reasoned, “Vikrant was our first choice for Chander, and having worked with him now, it’s difficult for me to imagine anyone else in the part. We need romantic heroes who don’t have to be larger than life. We need stories of decent people, men who are the so-called green flags. Vikrant’s Chander reminds us that kindness, vulnerability, and sincerity can be deeply attractive.”

Musafir Cafe may be steeped in romance, but it’s also a story about growing up. Arun shared, “We first meet Chander in his 20s and then reconnect with him almost a decade later. Time has changed him, not just in the way he looks, but how he loves, what he values, and how he sees the world. Our understanding of love evolves as we grow older. I think Musafir Cafe is equally a story about growing up and discovering different versions of yourself.”

“What made me nervous were the places where we diverged from the novel, especially towards the end. We felt those creative decisions served the story well,” he said.

Actors Vikrant Massey and Mahima Makwana will play the romantic leads in the web-series adaptation of the novel Musafir Café. We have learnt that Mahima has begun the shoot in the hill town of Mussoorie. The series is slated for streaming on Netflix.

Massey, known for his intense yet nuanced roles, takes on the central character (presumably the book’s “Chandar”), while Makwana steps into the role of the free-spirited lawyer “Sudha”.

Although Vikrant Massey and Mahima Makwana played parts in the popular daily soap Balika Vadhu, they never shared screen space together. This will mark their first major joint project.

For the unversed, Musafir Café by Divya Prakash Dubey is a Hindi-novel exploring modern relationships, choices and the idea of carving a space for oneself. Two very different people — Sudha, a principled divorce lawyer who doesn’t believe in marriage, and Chandar, a software engineer with literary dreams — meet via a matrimonial setup and then drift into an unconventional living arrangement.

We reached out to Vikrant, Mahima and the platform but didn't get a response.

Earlier in an interview, Vikran shared how he chooses his scripts. He said, "There are quite a lot of things actually. There are so many permutations and combinations that go behind you choosing a role. But I think that right at the core of it lies the question as to what that story evokes within me... I hate the narrations, I always insist on reading what will be shot eventually. I read it as an audience, if it is evoking what it is ought to, if it’s ought to make me laugh, does it make me laugh, if it’s ought to make me cry, does it make me cry, does it evoke that sense and then comes the other combination which is like have I done this before as an actor? Does this ring a bell with me? Is this a story that I actually want to tell?"