'Dhurandhar' and the viral Doodh-soda: Not just Rehmat Daikat or Hamza Ali Mazari, THIS pre-partition drink is TRENDING amid the film's massive success

Ranveer Singh starrer ‘Dhurandhar’ has been making and breaking box office records from day one. In addition to the stellar performance, the trending songs, character Rehman Daikat’s gangster yet pookie persona, there’s one more thing from the movie that is getting viral. It is none other than the ‘Doodh Soda’ drink, a pre-partition beverage giving major main character vibes. In the Aditya Dhar film, the ‘Doodh Soda’ sequences are a very significant part of the whole narrative. They basically lay down the groundwork from where the movie picks up the pace. The first scene of the ‘Doodh Soda’ stall introduces Gaurav Gera’s character Mohammad Aalam, a middle-aged man who runs a juice shop in the main market of Lyari. The shop is not just a prop, but Gaurav’s cover, who is an undercover Indian spy, living for years on the enemy land, amid dangerous goons, gangs and mobsters, to collect intelligence and build a network. The very shop gives Ranveer Singh, aka Hamza Ali Mazari, a roof over his head. It helped him maintain his cover and finally paved the way for his infiltration into Rehman Dakait’s gang. So the shop became a common point, where the spies could exchange information in plain sight.On top of it, "Darling, Darling, Dil kyu toda. Peelo peelo, Aalam soda," this dialogue by Gaurav Gera, helped him create an indelible mark. Ever since the release of ‘Dhurandhar,’ ‘Doodh Soda’ has become viral. Interestingly, the origin of this now pop-drink is rooted in the pre-partition era. But before we dug into the history, let’s understand what the beverage is all about. In plain words, it is a pretty simple mix of milk and lemon-lime soda. It doesn’t sound right to mix the two, but the combination is known to have an addictive touch.Coming to its history, way before branded bottled soft drinks became a thing in India, ‘Doodh Soda’ was sold across undivided Punjab. It wasn’t just one hit wonder; rather, it was made after people experimented with rose soda, khus soda, lemon soda, and then eventually, came the milk soda.According to a NDTV report, this blend was first created in Victorian England. It reached undivided India during the British Raj. After the partition, it gained more popularity on the other side of the border.