Richa Chadha Turns Host, Writer and Producer for Mumbai-Centric Series Musafiri

Richa Chadha is stepping into non-fiction with Musafiri, an eight-episode series in which she serves as host, writer and producer. The show marks her first non-fiction project as well as her debut on YouTube, and its trailer was released ahead of the premiere.

Musafiri will stream on Phull Stop, the YouTube channel launched by Chadha and her partner Ali Fazal. The first episode arrives on September 25, with a new instalment released every Friday.

The opening season is devoted entirely to Mumbai, a city closely tied to Chadha's personal and professional life. Rather than concentrating on familiar landmarks, the series turns to lesser-known histories, overlooked spaces and the stories of people who live and work in the city. Across the eight episodes, she speaks with residents, historians, cultural practitioners and other experts to examine different facets of Mumbai.

Chadha has said the idea grew out of motherhood and the curiosity it stirred about her surroundings. In the trailer, she reflects on how becoming a mother altered the way she saw things she had long taken for granted.

"Motherhood changed the way I look at the world. It makes you curious all over again, you start questioning things you have taken for granted, looking at the familiar with a completely different sense of wonder," she said. "I found myself asking so many questions about the city I have lived in for years. Do I really know Mumbai? How much of this city do I actually know? And a question that stayed with me was, a city that has given me so much, what do I owe it in return?"

She also traced the project to a long-standing interest in history, art, culture and people, noting that she studied history honours and grew up in a family where academics and curiosity were part of daily life. "Musafiri felt like a natural extension of that part of me. It is my attempt to travel through a city I thought I knew, but with fresh eyes," she said.

The series is produced by Pushing Buttons Studios, the banner founded by Chadha and Fazal. It is the company's second production after Girls Will Be Girls, and signals the duo's move into non-fiction following earlier work in fiction.