The tiny Chembur eatery, teetering on closure last year, saw daily crowds after the actress praised its Delhi‑style chole bhature, catapulting sales to roughly ₹2 crore monthly.
When Anushka Sharma posted a snap of steaming chole bhature on her Instagram story, the reaction was immediate. The photo, captioned “ekdum‑Delhi‑jaise‑Chole‑bhature in Mumbai”, turned a near‑shut restaurant into a weekend magnet.
The shop, Delhi Se, sits in a cramped 250‑square‑foot corner of Chembur. Brothers Jaspal Singh Khalsa and Mahinder Singh Khalsa opened it in October 2021 with just three tables and nine seats. By early 2022, footfall had slumped, daily takings barely crossed the ₹1‑lakh mark and the brothers were counting down to a September shutdown.
A chance visit from comedian Abhishek Upmanyu in September 2022 sparked the first flicker of hope. He ate the bhature, posted a quick story, and the next day strangers started walking in. The brothers later realised the surge was the result of the comedian’s Instagram shout‑out.
And then the call came. Someone claimed to be ordering two plates for Virat Kohli’s house. Jaspal admits he was skeptical – “What if she hacks the account?” – a line he later quoted in a video interview. The order proved genuine and was delivered on 5 October 2022.
The real turning point arrived when Sharma’s post went live. Within minutes, a crowd gathered outside the modest eatery, “so massive that we were completely blank”, Jaspal recalls. The surge wasn’t a flash‑in‑the‑pan. It reshaped the business overnight.
From ₹1‑Lakh to ₹2‑Crore
Before the celebrity boost, the brothers were scraping together roughly ₹1‑1.5 lakh each month. Today, they claim monthly revenues hover around ₹2 crore – a two‑hundred‑fold jump. The numbers, reported by the Free Press Journal, reflect a dramatic reversal of fortunes for a venture that once teetered on the brink of bankruptcy.
The story points to how a single influencer endorsement can rewrite a small‑business narrative in India’s hyper‑connected market. It also highlights the ripple effect of a comedian’s recommendation, a cricket star’s order, and a Bollywood actress’s love for street food.
For the Khalsas, the future now looks brighter. They are considering expanding the menu, hiring extra staff and perhaps opening a second outlet in another Mumbai suburb. Whether the hype will sustain beyond the initial rush remains to be seen, but for now, the line outside Delhi Se stretches down the lane every evening.
So the next time you scroll past a celebrity’s food post, remember: a single snap can turn a struggling stall into a two‑crore enterprise.
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