Sidharth Malhotra: Idea is to help one vendor every week

Sidharth Malhotra

Ever too often, social media is reductively viewed as the breeding ground for toxicity and hate. But, in a heartwarming tale, the country witnessed its true power as netizens shared the video of Kanta Prasad and wife Badami Devi's struggle to make ends meet, and urged Delhiites to head to their eatery, Baba Ka Dhaba. In a video shared on Thursday, Prasad, 80, broke down as he stated that their stall in Delhi's Malviya Nagar isn't seeing footfall and they barely earn R80 a day. As the video trended online, people flocked to Baba Ka Dhaba on Friday, eager to enjoy the meal prepared by the couple.

The eatery is now listed on Zomato. Pic/twitter

While several stars - including Sonam K Ahuja, Raveena Tandon and Randeep Hooda - cheered for Prasad and his wife, Delhi boy Sidharth Malhotra quickly sought the couple's details, hoping to offer them financial assistance. "Sidharth was heartbroken to see the 80-year-old man crying and asked his mother Rimma to reach out to them. When his mother approached them on Friday, the stall was bustling with customers. While Kanta Prasad was grateful for Sidharth's offer, he politely refused financial aid. The actor's mother was only too happy to support him by buying several dishes from his eatery," reveals a source.

Randeep Hooda

Malhotra says that he was thrilled to see how netizens helped Prasad revive his business. "Hats off to the Delhiites who went to the eatery! If we, as a society, can help someone who wants to make money through an honest day's work, we must do that," he says. Moved by the episode, the actor is now contemplating kicking off a social media campaign to put the spotlight on small businesses that are struggling to stay afloat. "The idea is to help one person in a city every week. If we can post about one local vendor every week on social media, urging people to buy his product, his business will get the required push. We need such inspiring stories. The genuineness of the old couple touched me."

Sonam Kapoor

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