Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Netflix's 'Musafir Cafe' Captures India's Changing Cafe Culture
There is a new show on Netflix called 'Musafir Cafe'.
It tells the story of a man named Chander Mohan Sharma who loves coffee very much.
The story takes place in two pretty places in India: Bhopal and Mussoorie.
Chander is so picky about coffee that he even brings his own pour-over filter to make it just right.
Back then, very few people in India made fancy coffee like that at home.
The show helps us see how cafes in India have changed over the last five years.
Nowadays, cafes are more than places to eat.
They are cozy spots where friends meet, books are read, and music happens.
People can even leave notes and promises on a 'Promise Wall' at the cafe.
The show also shows a dream of turning a home into a place where artists can stay and create, and many real places in India are already doing this.
Netflix series 'Musafir Cafe', created by Sharanya Rajgopal and directed by Ruchir Arun, follows protagonist Chander Mohan Sharma across Bhopal and Mussoorie in two timelines.
The show documents how India's cafe and hospitality culture has changed over the last five years.
Chander's fussy pour-over coffee rituals reflect a niche specialty coffee scene in India before the pandemic.
The cafe works as a 'third space' between home and work, hosting events like book readings by author Rahil Qureshi.
Through Preeti's dream, the series reflects India's growing artist residency trend, with real examples like Khoj and Hampi Art Labs.
- Who
- Chander Mohan Sharma, the protagonist of Netflix's 'Musafir Cafe', created by Sharanya Rajgopal and directed by Ruchir Arun
- What
- A series documenting how India's cafe and hospitality culture has changed in the last five years, from specialty coffee to cafes as community 'third spaces' and artist residencies
- When
- Across two timelines spanning roughly the last five years, including the years before and after the pandemic
- Where
- Bhopal and Mussoorie, India
- Why
- To show how India eats, meets and builds community, using the cafe setting as a stage for those shifts
- Platform
- Netflix
- Creator
- Sharanya Rajgopal
- Director
- Ruchir Arun
- Protagonist
- Chander Mohan Sharma
- Settings
- Bhopal and Mussoorie, India
- Core theme
- India's changing cafe and hospitality culture over five years
- Third-space cafe examples
- The Courtyard (Bengaluru), Nokrek Midan Cafe (Meghalaya), Cosmohub (Ladakh), Red Bari (Kolkata)
- Artist residency examples
- Khoj International Artist Residency (Delhi), Dharamkot Studio (Himalayas), Farm Studio (Rajasthan), Hampi Art Labs (Karnataka)