HISTORY OF CHAI
DOCUSERIES TREATMENT
PROJECT LOGLINE:
From the growers of the tea leaves in Munnar (India) to the walas of Lucknow (Pakistan) to the modern-day merchants like Kolkata Chai in New York City and Kola Tea in the San Fransisco Bay – across the South Asian diaspora– its communities and for those who love it, every cup of Chai tells a rich cultural story with a common thread: unity.
WHY THIS STORY?
Chai is a Hindi word meaning “tea” and it’s one of THE most popular drinks in the world. Cultures from all walks of life enjoy chai, share chai, and connect over a cup of chai. Within South Asia, every country, state, store, street corner, and family seem to have their own version of the drink. In Punjab, it’s chaa. In Nepal, it’s chiya.
But no matter what its name is, every cup tells a story. From where its ingredients came from, to the way it’s served, to who drinks it, to its role in everyday life, there’s an ENTIRE history to chai that speaks to belonging, society, and legacy. We’ve heard the phrase and jokes about “chai tea.” Now, it’s time to tell our story.
THE DOCUSERIES
The HISTORY OF CHAI is an entertaining and informative 4-episode docuseries that explores the complex YET fascinating origins and enduring zeitgeist of Chai in South Asia and the diaspora: the cultural differences, social significance, recipes, stories, and more of the universally-loved drink. This docuseries is character-driven. We follow 2-3 characters each episode across the various arenas of the chai experience–the Farmers (tea leaves, spices, sugar, etc.), the Chaiwalas, the Servers, the Wedding Planners, The Consumers, and the Modern-Day Movers of Chai both at home and abroad. The characters, the emotional anchors of the series, will come from all over the South Asian diaspora. A Chaiwala in Mumbai or Farmer in Sri Lanka or an American-based distributor have vastly different experiences. The thematic anchor of the series is the historical context that will paint a picture of Chai as something that unites people. The history of chai is emotional, enlightening, absurd, and untold.
COMPS: HISTORY OF CHAI
COMPS: HISTORY OF CHAI
The character work and profiles of CHEF’S TABLE
The narrator presence and V.O of TASTE THE NATION
The tone of HIGH ON THE HOG & CHEF’S TABLE
The visual style of CHEF’S TABLE & STREET FOOD: ASIA
The episodic structure of HIGH ON THE HOG & TASTE THE NATION
The history and heart of HIGH ON THE HOG and STREET FOOD: ASIA
LIMITED SERIES OVERVIEW
The history of chai can feel vast and niche. However, it’s perfect to explore in a limited series because Chai is both universal and connects every country, state, city, & home in South Asia. Our goal is to give a grounded understanding of the chai phenomenon, history and all, digestible for any audience. The way we acheive this is character. The insight into a specific, prominent chai culture comes through the the stories of our characters, who deal with some element of chai. Where you live truly changes your reference.
With these stories, audiences discover a cultural snapshot of South Asia and the diaspora. Every episode has its own themes, social & economic conversations, absurdity, trauma, triumph, and visual language. Each episode (or part) feels like its own rich “world”, while serving the larger serial narrative that Chai has no borders.
POTENTIAL LOCATIONS:
- INDIA: Mumbai, Kolkata, Assam, Bangalore, Kerala, Gujarat
- SRI LANKA: Colombo, Kandy
- NEPAL: Kathmandu, Nagarkot
- MALDIVES & BHUTAN
- BANGLADESH: Dhaka
- AFGHANISTAN: Refugee Stories
- PAKISTAN: Karachi, Lahore, Jaranwala, Lucknow
- UNITED STATES: New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Atlanta
EPISODE OVERVIEW:
PART 1:
“The Growers”
Following Chai’s supply chain: plantation workers, farmers (tea, spices, sugar), and grocery store owners in East India, Nepal, & Punjab
PART 2:
“The Walas”
Following the street vendors, restaurant owners, and families in making or selling Chai and its 1000 variations across Kerala, Bangalore, Pakistan, & Afghanistan
PART 3:
“The Consumers”
How Chai is consumed across the diaspora and world, from weddings to diplomacy to Starbucks in Mumbai, Sri Lanka, & Bangladesh
PART 4:
“The Movers”
Following the modern retailers and impact of Chai, through Kolkata Chai, Kola Tea, Chaiwala, and Chai Box in New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, London, & India
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
In our “The Growers” episode of HISTORY OF CHAI, we follow 3 characters who create the foundation of Chai with the ingredients they grow or source: a tea plantation worker in rural Assam, an aspiring farmer in a mountain village in Nepali, and a spice merchant in a bustling Punjabi market. We discover the “who and where” of chai’s integral ingredients. Thematically, the candid look at their everyday lives and work reveals personal, social, and historical challenges and triumphs in bringing the drink to life.
Structure: The Characters & The Location
- V.O intro from a “familiar voice” about Assam, Kathmandu, and Punjab giving social, historical & geographical context
- One-by-one intros to the Assamese tea plantation worker, Nepal farmer, and Punjabi spice merchant. We see how each moves through a day of life growing, sourcing, or selling their various chai ingredients
- Over the course of the day, we see the challenges and joys of their lives and work. We see the role chai plays in their own lives, those around them, and the society.
Structure: The B-Roll & The History Itself
- As we follow each character and the specific arcs we establish (E.g: selling ingredients before a drought, running an farm for the first time solo), we intercut B-roll of the people, lands, and culture of Assam, Kathmandu, and Punjab to fill out the “worlds.”
- We intercut the actual “history of chai” through V.O narration, animated graphics, maps, and interviews with historians. These cutaways to the “history” are triggered by our characters or a story transition.
SHOWING THE HISTORY
The episodes won’t only be engaging because of the visuals we capture and score we craft for each city or country, they’ll be engaging because the narrations, graphics, animations, and stock visuals intercut throughout each episode will give crucial context to the circumstances we see our characters in. Historical assets have an “aged” color palette (images on left), but are dynamic, modern, & styilzed (images on right).
For our “The Growers” episode, some of the history we unlock will be how Indian/Pakistani partition is one of the key reasons Masala is an ingredient in some Chai and not others, what the cultural difference between Chai, Chaa & Chiya are, and how the British forever changed tea production in Assam in the 1700’s.
WHY ME?
The inspiration for the stories I tell is rooted in the identity, history, & culture of my family’s journey from North India to East Africa to South London to Southern California. The journey across 4 continents is something I still try to understand, but what I live by and know are the stories of the experience my family has lived as members of the South Asian diaspora. I’m fascinated with history because it can so clearly explain the “why’s” of the world. In my case, history explains who I am.
HISTORY OF CHAI aims to explain some of the “why’s” in South Asian history through a drink that’s existed in some for seven thousand years. Whether through the stories of trauma or triumph, this docuseries can bring audiences from all walks of life together and have a social impact. The idea of wanting to tell a story about chai isn’t new. I wrote and directed a short about Chai through my Sundance program (next slide).
SHORT FILM: THE HISTORY OF CHAI
Link to the hybrid narrative-documentary
short film: THE HISTORY OF CHAI (2022)
The short is an incredible example of how history can be digestible. The circumstances and events of this history are complex, absurd, and emotional, but it affects identity, culture, and family. The HISTORY OF CHAI docuseries is more grounded, visually-rich, and character-driven. But similar to the short, the docuseries unravels the history and details every high and low through the POV of a character’s arc or journey.
WHY NOW?
Of course I want to say the answer is we need more South Asian stories on TV and that’s true. But there’s more. There’s a clear potential for this story to resonate with a wide audience, both domestically and internationally. There is a clear impact in terms of the authentic social and historical message we’re portraying about South Asia. Similar to the short too, this grounded docuseries isn’t only for South Asian audiences. It’s not just a “South Asian story.”
Tea is universal. Chai is universal. “Chai tea” is well…never mind (find out more in the docuseries). There are actually two sides to that term, more on that in the docuseries. The characters in HISTORY OF CHAI are universal: their stories, their struggles, their joys, and their livelihood. This docuseries is a unique spin on any “food docuseries” or “food travel show.” It’s the first of its kind in terms of representation. In a limited series format as well, this story is worth telling right now.
FACT: The Global Chai market in 2020 was valued at an estimated $1.22B and is expected to reach $1.55B by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 5.1%. (Research and Markets Report, Sep. 2020)