'Next customer, please... Oh, it’s the Police': Malayali tourist's 10-minute millionaire dream cut short in London

LONDON: We have all heard of the "get rich quick" schemes, but one Malayali tourist in London decided to test the waters with a camera, a bit of charm, and a race against his visa expiration date.

Vishnu Vijayadharan, an Indian globetrotter, recently turned a busy street in Central London into an impromptu photography studio. Armed with a Kodak camera capable of snapping 38 continuous shots, Vishnu set up a challenge: how much money could a tourist make selling instant photos on the fly?

Charging a modest £5 (around ₹540) per click, Vishnu’s hustle hit the ground running. Tourists, charmed by the concept, began lining up to get their London memories captured. For a fleeting moment, Vishnu thought he had struck gold.

"After the first few customers, I genuinely thought I was going to make millions," Vishnu joked in a video documenting the experiment.

Unfortunately for him, the entrepreneurial dream lasted exactly ten minutes.

"My next customer at Westminster turned out to be the police and council officers who came to charge me for illegal street selling," he laughed.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VISHNU VIJAYADHARAN 🌏 Travel and Lifestyle (@vishnu_vijayadharan_)

London has strict regulations regarding street vending. Setting up a business, selling goods, or soliciting services on public pathways without a proper municipal license is illegal.

Just as Vishnu pocketed a cool £11 (approx. ₹1,200) from his 10-minute hustle, city council officers and local police stepped in to shut down the operation.

Sharing the hilarious ordeal on Instagram, Vishnu attached a cheeky disclaimer for his followers: "Only try if your visa is expiring tomorrow"

While Vishnu admitted he was genuinely unaware that he needed a permit to snap photos for cash, he remains optimistic about the business model. According to his calculations, anyone with the right legal permits could easily pocket up to £100 (around ₹12,000) an hour doing this.

As for Vishnu? He walks away with a lighter pocket, a funny story, and a brand-new respect for British street laws.