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A Kerala man tried to make money by selling instant Polaroid photos on the streets of London and pocketed Rs 1,200 in minutes before he was stopped by council officers.
His cardboard sign and brisk activity sparked controversy online
A Kerala man living in London has narrated how a small side gig earned him quick money within minutes, before local authorities intervened and stopped him.
Vishnu Vijayadharan, who works a regular job in London, documented the whole experience on Instagram while trying to sell instant Polaroids on the streets. His short experience ended with him being warned by police officers and the council not to sell without permission.
It started with a simple idea
In the video, Vijayadharan explains that he wanted to test whether selling instant photos on the streets of London could become a profitable side hustle. “Let’s see how much money we can make selling Polaroid photos in London,” he says in the clip.
Polaroid photos are instant photographs that are printed immediately after being clicked. Tourists often enjoy them because they get a physical photo within minutes rather than waiting for digital printouts later.
To start, Vijayadharan bought a Kodak instant camera for around ₹110, which is roughly Rs 14,000. He then headed to a busy area of London carrying a cardboard sign reading “Nice plush worth £5”.
The price of each photo was 5 pounds, or about 640 rupees. His idea worked almost immediately.
The woman became his first client and looked happy in the photo. Soon after, someone else also agreed to buy one. “Two seconds later, we got another customer,” Vijayadharan says in the video.
The police stopped the side hustle
Things were going smoothly for a few minutes and Vijayadharan started thinking that the idea could be turned into a proper business. “At that point, I was really starting to think we were going to make millions, but it turned out that our next client was the police,” he says.
According to Vijayadharan, council officials informed him that selling products or services on the street requires official permission. He says in the clip: “Council officers came to accuse us of illegal street vending.”
He admitted that he had no idea about the need to obtain permission before starting the activity. “Apparently we were supposed to get permission from the council to do this and I had no idea,” he added.
Although the experiment ended quickly, Vijayadharan managed to earn £10, or about Rs 1,200, in about 10 minutes.
He also claimed that people with the proper permission could earn more money through similar street work. “But if you get permission from the council, you can easily make 100 pounds an hour here,” he says.
Interaction of social media users
The Instagram clip has now attracted a lot of backlash online, with users sharing mixed opinions about the side hustle.
“This is why visa rules are becoming stricter because of you people…just don’t treat every country like India,” one person wrote. “There are too many rules in the UK,” another commented.
One user pointed out the potential risks involved and wrote: “Obviously you’re not supposed to do any work without permission. Also, my friend, you’re on a skilled worker visa. So your visa will be risky too.”
But others viewed it as a harmless experience. “Well, well, the experience I had was invaluable,” one comment read.
Another person wrote, “Take permission and do this as a side hustle bro… you’ll probably make more money than your 9-5.” “Good experience,” added another user.
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