It was an atypical day on the tea stall for Arshad, the younger, blue-eyed chaiwala from Pakistan, who turned an web sensation quickly after an image of him (casually clicked by photographer Jiah Ali) went viral on social media again in 2016. And in lower than two months, he was inundated with modelling provides and ultimately, performing provides began to pour in. Lower to 2023, he has opened a restaurant on East London’s Ilford Land known as Cafe Chaiwala Arshad Khan that has as soon as once more introduced him again in highlight.
“After that image went viral, raaton raat meri zindagi badal gayi,” he gushes, “Issues have modified for me financially, personally, and professionally. Earlier, I used to be in a position to put on something, eat wherever, or do something that I wished to do. However now, there are specific boundaries that include fame. I’ve to see what I’m doing, sporting and the place I’m consuming or sitting.”
Whereas the 23-year-old continues to benefit from the hovering fame, he admits he took fairly a while to wrap his head round what precisely was taking place. “The media got here and interviewed me after the image went viral. For so long as two months, I remained confused about what was taking place with me,” quips Arshad, recalling the whirlwind of occasions that adopted that one image on the tea stall.
Quickly after he embraced his newfound fame, Arshad modelled for some manufacturers and advertisements in Pakistan for. “I’ve additionally starred in some songs and TV exhibits that me and my staff created and launched,” he shares gleefully.
Whereas Khan didn’t restrict his success story to only the leisure trade, he took the essence of his identification as a chaiwala together with his signature cafes in Pakistan and now in London. Nonetheless, this journey hasn’t been as clean as it might seem from the surface.
“There have been some challenges at first as I wasn’t even utilizing a smartphone earlier than all this. I didn’t know find out how to speak to the media,” admits Arshad, recalling the preliminary difficulties he confronted in dealing with all the eye and the media highlight.
As he step by step discovered to navigate these challenges, he reveals the largest of all was to get his household’s acceptance for his option to enter showbiz. “My household didn’t approve of one of many songs I did and complained to me about this profession selection,” he reveals, including, “However, over time, they noticed the eagerness and dedication I had for my craft, and their reservations changed into unwavering help.”
