Surbhi Chandna on 'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam': A love letter to South Indian food, family legacy
Synopsis
Surbhi Chandna's co-produced web series 'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam' arrives on YouTube on 11 May as a meditation on South Indian culinary heritage, family memory, and emotional legacy. Rather than a conventional romance or chef drama, the show uses food as the gateway to understanding human vulnerability, making it a rare cultural document wrapped in intimate storytelling.
Key Takeaways
Surbhi Chandna co-produced 'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam' with Balaji Telefilms through her production banner Feel Good Studios .
The series centres on Meera Nair (played by Shiny Doshi ), a chef preserving her late father's South Indian restaurant legacy.
Abhishek Kumar plays Arjun Thakur , a chef-investor whose arrival threatens Meera's emotional world.
The ensemble cast includes Nehalaxmi Iyer , Aman Singh , Prerna Sehjpal , Vijayalaxmi Gurav , and Karan Khanna .
The show premieres on YouTube on 11 May .
Actress Surbhi Chandna, who co-produced the streaming series 'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam', has described the project as a deeply personal exploration of love, family bonds, and cultural preservation through the lens of food and emotional inheritance. The show, set inside a struggling heritage South Indian restaurant, centres on Meera Nair, portrayed by Shiny Doshi, an emotionally driven chef for whom her late father's kitchen represents far more than a business — it is a living monument to his values and memory.
The story at its core
The narrative takes a turn when Arjun Thakur, played by Abhishek Kumar, a chef-investor, enters Meera's kitchen with promises of revival but also the implicit threat of erasing her family's culinary and emotional legacy. The series explores how food becomes the conduit through which characters reveal their vulnerabilities, past traumas, and deepest convictions. This thematic anchoring — food as memory, comfort, and responsibility — distinguishes the show from conventional restaurant dramas.
Surbhi Chandna's creative vision
Surbhi Chandna told reporters:
Point of View
'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam' arrives as a quiet act of cultural assertion. Surbhi Chandna's decision to co-produce rather than merely act signals a shift — actors are no longer content to inhabit stories; they are authoring them. The show's insistence that food is not spectacle but service and memory is countercultural in an industry obsessed with scale. Whether audiences embrace this restraint remains to be seen.
NationPress
28 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is 'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam' about?
The series is set in a heritage South Indian restaurant struggling to survive and centres on Meera Nair, a chef who views her late father's kitchen as a living legacy. When investor-chef Arjun Thakur enters her world with revival promises, tensions emerge between preservation and modernisation.
Who stars in 'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam'?
The lead cast includes Shiny Doshi as Meera Nair and Abhishek Kumar as Arjun Thakur. The ensemble also features Nehalaxmi Iyer, Aman Singh, Prerna Sehjpal, Vijayalaxmi Gurav, and Karan Khanna.
When does 'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam' premiere?
The show is set to stream on YouTube from 11 May.
Who produced 'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam'?
The series is produced by Balaji Telefilms and executed by Surbhi Chandna's production banner Feel Good Studios.
What makes this show different from typical restaurant dramas?
Rather than a conventional romance or chef drama, 'Ishk Dum Aur Idli Rasam' uses food as the entry point to explore human emotions, past trauma, and cultural memory. The focus is on emotional inheritance and family legacy rather than spectacle.
