In a world full of paanwalas, say hello to a paanwali.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00In India, there's a paan shop on almost every street, be it a village, town or city.
00:22One such paan shop is in Delhi's Connaught Place.
00:26But guess what? The whole business is run by a paanwali.
00:56Anita sells at least 150 varieties of meetha paan and 50 varieties of chocolate paan to customers at Yammu's Panchayat.
01:26Most of the local paan shops are run by people who eat simple paan.
01:29They don't eat paan made with waste fresheners.
01:32Started in 1992, the paan parlour is the brainchild of Anita's grandfather, Haribhai Lalwani,
01:40who started this business in a tiny space.
01:43The shop was later handed over to her father.
01:46So, she always had in mind that the paan parlour is only for people who drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes,
01:54or people who don't come with their families, who come to fight, goon around.
02:00Why not a showroom with air-conditioning, beautiful ambience and 7-star interiors?
02:10She had this thought in mind in 1978.
02:14While paan shops are predominantly run by men,
02:17her father wanted his four daughters to take over their family's paan business.
02:44According to the National Health Service in England,
02:51chewing paan which normally contains tobacco raises the risk of mouth cancer.
02:56Despite the health risk, Anita's shop continues to garner attention.
03:01But how?
03:14Absolutely.
03:15Whatever you see it here, you will also see it on the shelf of your mom's kitchen.
03:20Paan has chlorophyll, it has life, dates have vitality, fennel doesn't let your acne come.
03:27Coconut keeps your hair and skin clear.
03:30Guys, this is the best paan I've ever had.
03:33I'm not kidding.
03:34I'm not kidding.
03:35I'm not kidding.
03:36I'm not kidding.
03:36I'm not kidding.
03:37I'm not kidding.
03:38I'm not kidding.
03:38I'm not kidding.
03:39I'm not kidding.
03:39I'm not kidding.
03:40I'm not kidding.
03:40I'm not kidding.
03:41I'm not kidding.
03:41I'm not kidding.
03:42I'm not kidding.
03:42I'm not kidding.
03:43I'm about to eat the 24-karat gold paan.
03:48Music
04:09Around.
04:10Okay.
04:10Yes.
04:12Yes.
04:13Wow.
04:13Music
04:24Although the parlor is abuzz with paan lovers,
04:27there are a few customers who react differently to the various combinations
04:31the shop has to offer.
04:33Wow.
04:33Especially middle-aged ladies.
04:35What do they eat?
04:36Paan is a simple thing to eat.
04:40Who puts chocolate on paan?
04:42People were calling us mad.
04:43Who spends so much money on paan?
04:46In the 90s, it cost 50 lakh rupees.
04:48The good thing is that they start talking to each other.
04:52If we mortgage the property papers,
04:56we'll eat gold paan.
04:57If we have to sell our kidneys,
04:59we'll eat gold paan.
05:01But running a paan business for more than 30 years
05:05came with its own set of challenges.
05:07The initial challenge was of course the price factor.
05:10Because it used to sell for 2 rupees,
05:11we used to sell it for 15 rupees.
05:13The current challenge is that
05:16whoever comes here should know what's new today.
05:19After setting up paan parlors in five cities in India,
05:23such as New Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Ujjain, and Mumbai,
05:27Anita also opened a paan shop in Thailand.
05:30I'm getting both my daughters ready to go to America to study,
05:35but they have to come back,
05:36handle the paan business,
05:39and take it to the IPO listing.
05:41Guys, I'm making paan.
05:43Paan.
05:45I'm making gold paan.
05:54I think I'll have a back-up profession.