A recipe for a hit

Here’s what you’ll need — a bit of spice, some herbs, a great script and a plot where food plays a major role. Let that stir and simmer for a while before serving it hot to the audience. Going by the trend of hit films, a plot that deals with the culinary world seems to be a great recipe for success.

Leading the pack in Kollywood is Trisha’s upcoming film Mohini, where she plays a chef and a food blogger, as well as Santhanam’s Server Sundaram — which follow in the wake of examples like Madhavan’s Nala Damayanthi and Vijay’s Youth, in which protagonists played cooks. Dulquer Salmaan’s hit Malayalam film, Ustad Hotel is also another delightful favourite in the genre. Then you have the small-budget hit Telugu film Pellichoopulu, where the protagonist starts a food truck. Further, Hollywood hit film Chef  is being remade in Bollywood, starring Saif Ali Khan!

But these aren’t the only films — from the 1972 comedy film Bawarchi starring Rajesh Khanna and Jaya Bachchan, to the more recent ones like Saif Ali Khan-starrer Salaam Namaste, Amitabh-starrer Cheeni Kum, Stanley ka Dabba, Lunchbox and more, the stories that revolve around food have always had a major appeal with the audience.

People might have different views of different issues, but food is what connects them all. Ramana Madhesh, director of Mohini says, “Food is one of the most common things that binds people and that is perhaps why the culinary world draws people in.”

The idea of a movie based on food might seem like a great way to draw attention, but most of the directors who have worked on these films say that it is anything but easy. “They require tons of research and development. For this movie, I visited many countries and tasted different kinds of food. Apart from that, I also studied the body language of chefs and also picked up a few tricks in the way they handle the knives,” adds Madhesh.

Talking about why food played a big role in his film Pellichoopulu, director Tharun Bhascker says that the food industry always interested him. “I was blown away when I watched Chef.  Later, I watched a film called The Hundred-Foot Journey, in which memories are connected with food. I found that food has an immediate connect with people and that is what prompted me to use that as a major storyline,” explains Tharun.

For most filmmakers, food is an important point in their films because of their own interest. Take for instance, Ritesh Batra, who directed Lunchbox. “I love to cook. This film was born out of my love for food. I cook at least once a week — but how do I rate myself as a cook? Very harshly.  I’d definitely read the review about my cooking if it ever came out!” says Ritesh, with a laugh.

Whereas Amol Gupte, director of the highly-acclaimed film Stanley Ka Dabba, says, “Food is my expression. I cook. Period. The colours, smell and taste of food have all been a part of my passion since boyhood and I had not been able to extract that. When an indie film opportunity beckoned, I grabbed it.”

So why the increase in films that revolve around food now? Chef and owner of the food truck ‘The Spitfire BBQ’, Siddhanth Sawkar, on whose life the film Pellichoopulu was also based, explains — “In 2007, there was a sudden boom in food shows on TV, shows like MasterChef took everyone by storm and people took a keen interest in cooking once again. Filmmakers and writers were piqued by this and we saw a lot of stories and films about food coming up. Yes, food attracts people, but the storyline is equally important as well.”

Tharun signs off, explaining that filmmakers catching on to the idea, should work with professionals — “For our film, we worked with Siddhanth Sawkar. He not only taught our leads on the techniques of chopping vegetables, but also gave us valuable insights of showcasing food. For instance, he told us that to showcase honey, one needs to use engine oil!”

(With inputs from Subhash K. Jha and Anupama Subramanian)