Eid Special: Indian movies that are all about food
- Featured Film
Schenelle Dsouza- 11 minutes read
Schenelle Dsouza
One of the beautiful things about Eid is the sharing of a meal with your loved ones. And while food and a movie is an iconic combination, a movie about food is an even better one! Check out some deliciously entertaining Indian movies about food to watch over the weekend.
Axone
Axone, pronounced as akhuni, is an Indian dramedy directed by Nicholas Kharkongor. The movie which takes place over the course of one stressful day focuses on a group of 20-something girls from North East trying to prepare a pungent dish for a friend’s wedding. When their loud Punjabi landlady forbids them from cooking at home, Chanbi and her Nepali best friend Upasna are forced to commandeer cramped kitchens and deserted community halls in order to prepare the dish in time. While tackling issues of the day, the two are forced to revisit past trauma, while dealing with the new issues at hand. While mostly about food, the movie tackles the issue of racial bias faced by migrants from the North East in the cramped lanes of Munirka or Humayunpur, Delhi.
Watch online on Netflix
Chef
A remake of the Hollywood movie with the same name, Chef stars Saif Ali Khan as the gifted chef Roshan in New York City going through a midlife crisis. Having lost his passion for cooking, and his emotions out of control, Roshan decides to travel to Kochi to reconnect with his previous life, his wife and son, and reignite his passion for cooking. Upon his wife’s suggestion, Roshan journeys from the South to the North operating a food truck. The adventure on the road not only helps Roshan get his groove back but also helps him realise his son’s shared passion for cooking. An emotional, gastronomical adventure, Chef will not only make you want to grab a delicious meal but also try your hand at the beautiful craft of cooking!
Watch online on Amazon Prime
Daawat-e-Ishq
One Bollywood movie that can really leave you feeling hungry, Daawat-e-Ishq is the ultimate food movie to watch, despite what the reviews might say. A shoe-sales girl from Hyderabad, Gulrez “Gullu” Qadir becomes weary of dowry-demanding bridegrooms and decides to teach them a lesson by conning them and imposing charges under section 498A of the anti-dowry act. She along with her father travel to Lucknow, where they meet a prospective groom, Tariq “Taru” Haider, a talented chef with his own restaurant. While their plans to dupe him are still in motion, Gullu cannot help but fall for the kind and loving Tariq! Word to the wise, do not watch this movie on an empty stomach.
Watch online on Apple TV
English Vinglish
Directed by Gauri Shinde, English Vinglish captures the story of every Indian housewife struggling to match pace with modern times. Despite being the perfect bahu, wife and mother, Shashi continues to suffer ridicule from her well-educated husband and daughter, all for her lack of English proficiency. Her laddoo business seems to be her only strength and identity. However, when travelling to New York for her niece’s wedding, Shashi decides to learn English to reclaim her confidence and reassert her value as a mother and wife. A surprising companion is the French Chef in her English class who shares her passion for food.
Watch online on Amazon Prime
Gulabjaam
Indian cuisine like its culture is extensively diverse. And yet, when we think about Indian cuisine, we tend to leave out more than half of the regional delicacies. Gulabjaam, a Marathi language comedy-drama, attempts to shine a light on the intricate craft of Marathi cuisine and the absence of regional food from the country’s culinary imagination. The story centres on Aditya, an NRI torn between his passion for food and a bright future as an investment banker. Initially indecisive, Aditya decides to give in to his passion and learn to cook authentic Maharashtrian cuisine from a gifted tiffin vendor named Radha. Initially rude and uncomplying, Radha refuses to teach Aditya anything, relegating him to doing menial tasks and dismissing his every effort. Over time she begins to let her guard down and she along with Aditya starts a business called ‘Dial-a-chef’, wherein they visit the customer’s homes and prepare a meal for them.
Watch online on ZEE5
Maacher Jhol
Directed by Pratim D. Gupta, Maacher Jhol is the first Bengali film to focus on a Parsi Chef. The story circles a Michelin-starred chef named Dev D from Paris. Having to return to Kolkata after 13 years to care for his elderly mother, Dev is faced with quite a challenging task. His mother requests him to treat her to a maacher jhol, which he loved as a teenager. Despite his many attempts to recreate the dish, Dev fails miserably and is even forced to face ghosts from his past. While food is the main focus, it also becomes the metaphor for nostalgia, the loss of innocence and having to deal with the loss of a loved one. The process of recreating his mother’s famous maacher jhol not only helps him understand his mother better while simultaneously rediscovering parts of his own lost inner child.
Watch online on Sony Liv
Stanley Ka Dabba
School is probably one of the best memories for everyone. The innocence, the friendships and the memories created around each shared meal. Stanley Ka Dabba is one such trip down memory lane for many. Stanley is a spirited child with a vivid imagination and a knack for telling stories. Yet his unkempt appearance at school causes his teachers to judge and mock him rather than reach out. One poor example of a teacher, Verma sir aka Khaddos who enjoy eating food from the students’ tiffins. When Stanley comes to school without his tiffin, his friends are more than willing to share their tiffin. This annoys Khadoos who reprimands Stanley for eating ‘his’ share of the food. Stanley grew up without a mother; he didn’t have a mother to cook his dinner, dress him up, help him with his project, or drive him to school. After watching his peers praise their mother’s cooking, Stanley cooks up a fictional mother, sharing anecdotes of her and her cooking. His ruse works well, but only for so long. The film delves into the lives of marginalised children and leaves the audience with the message of how many kids in India grapple with child labour.
Watch online on Disney+ Hotstar
The Lunchbox
