Atul Kulkarni, holder of two National Awards, continues to shine owing to his talents for acting, producing and more. He is a proper Marathi maanus who loves to enjoy Maharashtrian food. He knows so much about Maharashtra and has delivered hits in Marathi cinema too. On this episode of Tere Gully Mein, he joined Arohi Thatte, our anchor to explore good spots of authentic Maharashtrian cuisine in Mumbai. We came to know that he doesn’t like this dish from Maharashtra; read on to know which food item.
Atul Kulkarni Told Us About The History Of Vada Pav
Atul Kulkarni enlightened us with the backstory of Vada pav and we were quite surprised to know about it. He started by acknowledging that vada pav stood as the symbol of the Marathi people because Bala Saheb Thackeray inspired its creation in one of his speeches.
Since then Mumbaikars have been living off of packs of pav and vadas. Then, he narrated the history by saying that the midnight meetings conducted by them were really the catalyst for the beginning of the vada pav ruling in Mumbai.
It became a convenient meal to eat after meetings because it was quick to prepare. Mill workers would gather leftover sabzis from neighbouring eateries and use them to create bhaji. Pav was readily accessible always. Atul Kulkarni told us that pav bakers would begin preparing pav early in the evening for the next day. Hence vada pav became “very handy and that is how it became Mumbai’s food” because mill workers were hungry at night. That is a rather fascinating story! Were you aware of it?
Also Read: Marathi Mulga Atul Kulkarni Loves These Maharashtrian Dishes & You Will Too!
He Also Talked About Its Popularity
Street food in Mumbai is a huge factor for the people residing there. Life is pretty fast-paced and quick bites here and there keep Mumbaikars alive. Atul Kulkarni mentioned that the popularity of vada pav increased because Bala Saheb Thackeray talked about it at length in one of his speeches. Thackeray was a politician who founded Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party in Maharastra.
Funnily, Atul Kulkarni is not a fan of vada pav and believes that it has been overly romanticized over time. He surprised us by saying that he really can’t tolerate vada pav and isn’t the biggest admirer of it. He detests fried foods and pav, so its combination is also out of the question for him.
Also Read: Atul Kulkarni Talks About His Fitness Journey & We Are Taking Notes
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