Send it back to the kitchen
Chef Director: Raja Krishna Menon Actors: Saif Ali Khan, Padmapriya, Dhanish Karthik Rating:
If you are a Bollywood fan, you’d remember the 2001 film Dil Chahta Hai. If you don’t, Saif Ali Khan nods to it throughout Chef. Those are the moments from this largely bland fare that you do want to remember.
Raja Krishna Menon’s film is an official adaptation of Jon Fravreau’s 2014 hit by the same name. While the original was an endearing slice-of-life drama which impressed food lovers with its mouth-watering visuals, Menon’s adaptation is flavourless.
Menon’s movie shows us the star chef Roshan Kalra (Saif Ali Khan) mostly cooking just one dish: pasta. Kalra, so passionate about his culinary skills that he ran away from home at the age of 15, shows little interest in actual cooking. When he does, we see none of the artistry which might make the audience taste the dish. Mostly, we see an empty pan and then prepared pasta. Where is the joy that the preparation process can bring? There are some scenes about chola-bhatura, idli-sambhar and a sumptuous langar meal, but that’s about it.
Even the characters are given little space to establish their personalities. We’re told Roshan is a self-made, passionate chef. But nothing in his personality gives us a glimpse of the gravity that such a man would carry. Unlike Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) from the original, Roshan is stubborn, irrational and insensitive. He picks a fight with a customer in a restaurant for no apparent reason and after he loses his job, displays no cravings to kickstart his dream journey.
It is also shocking to see racist comments in a film by the director who made Airlift.
Another problem with Chef is its clunky story. Whether it is Roshan fighting with a patron, his trip to Kochi or his decision to start his food truck – everything happens arbitrarily. There are a few moments, nonetheless, that bring a smile on your face. In a few sequences that showcase the bond between Roshan and his son, one where he interacts with his ex-wife (Padmapriya) and almost every moment Milind Soman is in the frame — you warm up to characters. But every time a scene touches the heart, the narrative moves to a different, less engaging sequence. Chef offers moments of brilliance which could have given us a light, affable film. But a lazy and rather uninterested narrative takes away the pleasure.