Vishal Kotian: My first date was at a tapri with cutting chai and Parle-G biscuits

Vishal Kotian

'Bigg Boss 15''s Vishal Kotian is a true Mumbaikar, from dates at chai ki tapri to enjoying breakfast at Irani restaurants, he has done it all.

Vada Pav or Pav Bhaji?
Vada Pav is our Mumbaikar's invention and discovery. It comes from the streets in Dadar and Parel where I reside. Vada Pav over burger and sandwich or anything because it belongs to Dagdi chawl.

Rickshaw or Kaali Peeli?
Rickshaw over Kaali Peeli any day because you have to listen to the stories of the Rickshawalah. I don't know why every Rickshawalah is heartbroken as they play songs like ‘Achcha Sila Diya Tune' or ‘Pardesi.' Even a Limousine cannot compete with those beats.

Gateway of India or Marine Drive?
Marine Drive, it's the Queen's Necklace and pride of Mumbai. Marine Drive during the rains, as seen in ‘Rimzim Gire Sawan' with (Amitabh) Bachchan saab and Moushumi Chatterjee. You can get a foot massage done, enjoy the sound of the waves and lights around.

Juhu Beach or Bandra Bandstand?
For us, Juhu beach means Bachchan saab's bungalow and Bandstand means Shah Rukh Khan. I am a Bachchan fan so Juhu Beach because aate jaate Bachchan saab ke bungalow ke darshan ho jaate hai.

Local train or BEST bus?
Double-decker BEST buses are rare now. I have memories from school where I would run and occupy the first seat of the bus. I used to peek outside and when the wind hit my face, I felt like Superman.

Tapri ki chai or Sol Kadhi?
Tapri ki chai with nankhatai that comes for Rs 2. I remember this because my first date was at the tapri. It was drizzling and I had bought a packet of Parle-G biscuits and cutting chai, it was so romantic.

Favourite restaurant in the city?
My favourite restaurant has shut down. There used to be an Irani restaurant in front of Andheri railway station and McDonald's has taken over that place now. They used to serve sweet cream on bun pav at 5 to 6 am. I used to travel every morning from Dadar to eat it along with cutting chai and return home. Currently, Café Mondegar in Colaba is my favourite, the walls of the restaurant show the spirit of Mumbai.

Favourite place in Mumbai?
I love every place in Mumbai be it Marine Lines or Dadar flower market and Kirti college, Fashion Street and Bandra but Filmcity is my favourite because it is full of stars.

The Mumbai lingo you use the most?
I've grown up on Mumbai's streets and the lingo will always be with me. This is why people on 'Bigg Boss' would say I have three spirits within me, one is Birbal's spirit because of my show ('Har Mushkil Ka Hal Akbar Birbal'), the other is an English spirit because of my education and thirdly Mumbai ki aatma.

What do you love most about the city?
I am from Mumbai, it's my janmabhoomi and karmabhoomi. Mumbai is the ‘city of dreams' and it is often said the city doesn't let its people sleep hungry. What I love the most is the spirit of Mumbai. The city faced 13 bomb blasts together and I lost a lot of friends. I was at Plaza theatre and by the time I reached home, everyone was crying because a few seconds after I had left the spot, a bomb blast destroyed Plaza theatre. The next day, I saw hoardings in Mumbai, that on July 10 trains in Mumbai running at 90 per cent capacity, on July 11, 2006, bomb blasts take place and on July 12, trains in Mumbai are running at more than 100 per cent capacity. On July 10, blood banks were quite empty but after train blasts (July 11), on July 12, blood banks were overflowing with donors. That's the true spirit of Mumbai.