Pop culture and Bollywood often extend their influence beyond entertainment, shaping trends and reviving forgotten favourites. Following the success of Dhurandhar - Part One and Part Two, a classic desi beverage has found renewed popularity among audiences. If you have watched the film, you already know what we are referring to: doodh soda.
What Is Doodh Soda?
Made by mixing chilled milk with carbonated soda, doodh soda is typically sweetened with sugar and ice, and sometimes flavoured with rose syrup or other essences. Light, fizzy and refreshing, it is a drink closely associated with summer, especially in North India.
In the film, Gaurav Gera's character Mohammad Aalam runs a juice shop in Lyari, Pakistan. His line, "Darling, darling, dil kyun toda. Peelo peelo, Aalam soda," served not only as a coded message within the story for Ranveer Singh's character Hamza, but also reignited curiosity and nostalgia for doodh soda among viewers.
In Delhi, two modest shops that have been serving doodh soda since 1955 and 1969 are now seeing a surge in customers, crediting the film for the renewed interest in the drink.
Derawal, Mukherjee Nagar
Tucked away in Mukherjee Nagar, this small but busy shop is run by Arun Madan. Its history dates back to 1969, when Madan's grandfather brought the tradition of doodh soda from Pakistan to India.
The shop offers around 10 flavours of his fizzy-milky drink, including rose, pineapple, butterscotch, chocolate, and strawberry. A 400 ml serving is priced at Rs 80. One of the highlights here is the manual soda-making machine, which prepares the drink in front of customers, adding to its old-world charm.
While doodh soda has long been a summer staple for regular patrons at Derawal, the popularity of Dhurandharhas introduced a new wave of customers, many of whom are trying the drink for the first time, as per reports.
KPH Refreshment Point, Nangia Park
Established in 1955, KPH Refreshment Point in Nangia Park is another long-standing address for doodh soda in the city. The shop serves the beverage in four flavours - rose, pineapple, tutti frutti and cold coffee - and is also known for its refreshing mint lemonade.
NDTV spoke to Narender Budhiraja of KPH Refreshment Point, a family-run shop started by his father, Roshanlal Budhiraja. He noted that the film has led to a noticeable rise in demand for doodh soda. "Logo ki yaadash taaza ho jaati hai," he said, noting that the film helped refresh people's memories of the drink.
While the shop is a favourite among locals, visitors from outside Delhi also make their way here while searching for authentic doodh soda in the capital. The shop offers bottled doodh soda, which can be purchased in bulk and enjoyed later at home without losing its classic fizz.