Posted:
Chef movie cast:
Saif Ali Khan,
Padmapriya
Janakiraman, Svar
Kamble, Dhanish
Karthik, Chandan
Roy Sanyal, Milind
Soman
Chef movie
director: Raja
Krishna Menon
Chef movie rating:
2 stars
Roshan Kalra is a
chef who is
shown unraveling
when we first
meet him: frothing at the mouth, and out of
a job. Right from then on, Chef' takes pains
to tell us that despite himself, and the
roadblocks he runs into, Kalra will get to
where he needs to, not wants to.
This is a grown-up premise, and the film is
fashioned as a solid rom com cum a late
coming of age tale of Peter-Pan-like adults.
It is no surprise that this desi Chef' is a
near-faithful adaptation of the Hollywood
hit of the same name, directed by Jon
Favreau. And it is perfectly apt that Roshan
Kalra is played by Saif Ali Khan, a star
desperately in need of grown-up re-
invention.
Chef' is a good-looking film, with good-
looking people. The ingredients have been
carefully assembled. Khan is ripe for real
difference, playing a divorced, middle-aged
man and a father to a young boy (Kamble),
who is a natural. The leading lady
(Janakiraman) has a smile that reaches her
eyes: she feels organic in a way no one else
does. And there's a solid supporting cast:
we see Chandan Roy Sanyal having fun, and
an all-too brief turn by the deliciously salt-
and-pepper Milind Soman.
There are some interesting flavours here,
but Chef' feels derivative, and doesn't come
together as a fully satisfactory dish. And
that's got to do with the uneven, stodgy
writing. The smoothness that should have
been part of a first-rate spread is evident
only in some parts: the others are awkward
and stilted and contrived, and that impacts
the entire film.
This is the kind of film which lends itself to
different languages and inflections.
Roshan's ex is a Malayali, so for her to break
into her native tongue is natural. That's true
for her son as well, and he does best.
Roshan himself is heard speaking perfectly
passable Angrezi but they all affect a
strange, plastic English Hindi mix, created
solely in Bollywood.
And the way the food on display is handled
is a disappointment. Kalra claims he is a
great chef (did I hear three Michelin stars
mentioned somewhere?) but is to be seen
twirling his fork around some pasta, mostly.
It's a mystery why Kalra has been written so
blandly. A man who loves food literally dives
into, takes deep swallows of it, sniffs the
aroma, eats with contagious pleasure. Yes,
he seems to have lost his mojo, we are told,
but what is it that brings him back to the
table, all guns firing? I kept waiting for the
tipping point. The film does make a stab at
depicting the sensuousness that comes
with the true enjoyment of cooking and
savouring colors and tastes, but it remains,
just that, a stab: no one, including Kalra,
gets their nose really busy.
Still, this is where Saif Ali Khan needs to be,
this zone, where he can be a flawed person
in search of his true self. Here he plays,
variously, a failed husband, a father not very
good at parenting, and a man not knowing
what he wants. And he could have made a
meal of it, if this was a better realized film.
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/chef-movie-review-saif-ali-khan-star-rating-4875927/.
Saif Ali Khan,
Padmapriya
Janakiraman, Svar
Kamble, Dhanish
Karthik, Chandan
Roy Sanyal, Milind
Soman
Chef movie
director: Raja
Krishna Menon
Chef movie rating:
2 stars
Roshan Kalra is a
chef who is
shown unraveling
when we first
meet him: frothing at the mouth, and out of
a job. Right from then on, Chef' takes pains
to tell us that despite himself, and the
roadblocks he runs into, Kalra will get to
where he needs to, not wants to.
This is a grown-up premise, and the film is
fashioned as a solid rom com cum a late
coming of age tale of Peter-Pan-like adults.
It is no surprise that this desi Chef' is a
near-faithful adaptation of the Hollywood
hit of the same name, directed by Jon
Favreau. And it is perfectly apt that Roshan
Kalra is played by Saif Ali Khan, a star
desperately in need of grown-up re-
invention.
Chef' is a good-looking film, with good-
looking people. The ingredients have been
carefully assembled. Khan is ripe for real
difference, playing a divorced, middle-aged
man and a father to a young boy (Kamble),
who is a natural. The leading lady
(Janakiraman) has a smile that reaches her
eyes: she feels organic in a way no one else
does. And there's a solid supporting cast:
we see Chandan Roy Sanyal having fun, and
an all-too brief turn by the deliciously salt-
and-pepper Milind Soman.
There are some interesting flavours here,
but Chef' feels derivative, and doesn't come
together as a fully satisfactory dish. And
that's got to do with the uneven, stodgy
writing. The smoothness that should have
been part of a first-rate spread is evident
only in some parts: the others are awkward
and stilted and contrived, and that impacts
the entire film.
This is the kind of film which lends itself to
different languages and inflections.
Roshan's ex is a Malayali, so for her to break
into her native tongue is natural. That's true
for her son as well, and he does best.
Roshan himself is heard speaking perfectly
passable Angrezi but they all affect a
strange, plastic English Hindi mix, created
solely in Bollywood.
And the way the food on display is handled
is a disappointment. Kalra claims he is a
great chef (did I hear three Michelin stars
mentioned somewhere?) but is to be seen
twirling his fork around some pasta, mostly.
It's a mystery why Kalra has been written so
blandly. A man who loves food literally dives
into, takes deep swallows of it, sniffs the
aroma, eats with contagious pleasure. Yes,
he seems to have lost his mojo, we are told,
but what is it that brings him back to the
table, all guns firing? I kept waiting for the
tipping point. The film does make a stab at
depicting the sensuousness that comes
with the true enjoyment of cooking and
savouring colors and tastes, but it remains,
just that, a stab: no one, including Kalra,
gets their nose really busy.
Still, this is where Saif Ali Khan needs to be,
this zone, where he can be a flawed person
in search of his true self. Here he plays,
variously, a failed husband, a father not very
good at parenting, and a man not knowing
what he wants. And he could have made a
meal of it, if this was a better realized film.
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/chef-movie-review-saif-ali-khan-star-rating-4875927/.
Anupamaa
96