Scherzaade Shroff on sari shopping and curry spills in GottaDoIndia

When YouTube travel show GottaDoIndia first started panning the nation three years ago, the goal was simple — document everything there is to know about a travel destination. “We wanted to create a travel show about India that is based out of India,” says its 30-year-old host, model-turned-vlogger Scherezade Shroff, who started the series along with director Adi Pocha of Squirkle Productions.

Naming Anthony Bourdain as the kindler of her love for travel shows, Scherezade has garnered a following of over 1.8 lakh people on her own YouTube channel since its inception in 2013. Landing in Chennai in June, as their 20th destination after having toured through cities such as Kochi, Jodhpur, Shillong, and Darjeeling, the Mumbai-based vlogger was surprised by all that the city has to offer. “The general assumption is that cities don’t provide too many unique experiences; but from food and shopping havens to the massive Marina Beach, Chennai has been a lot of fun,” she says. When asked what the highlight of her visit was, she shares, “DakshinaChitra was lovely. There’s no other place I know of that preserves traditional houses and showcases local craftsmen’s work.”

Out about town
Always one to experiment, Scherezade talks about her food trail across Chennai. “We went to Ponnusamy Hotel on the first day, where I tried the crab masala. I was wearing a crisp white shirt which wasn’t a great idea — I got curry stains all over my shirt and had to shoot with that on,” she says with a laugh, adding that the idlis at Ratna Cafe and the dining experience at The Farm stood out too. 

Famous for her ‘shopping haul’ videos from across the world, she shares that she was delighted by the buys she made in the city. “I got my first kanjeevaram sari from Nalli and a woven bag from the M.Rm.Rm. Cultural Foundation store,” she says.  

The balancing act

Juggling between three channels, the vlogger admits that being her own boss means being on the job all the time. “In Chennai, we were filming 12 hours a day, and had to spend early mornings editing and posting videos,” she shares, adding that work days end with binge-watching shows online. Out of her travel diaries, she picks New York as the city after her own heart. “I’m always as excited as the first time to go there. The vibe, the food, the shopping — I love it all!” she exclaims.