REVIEW: THE GREAT INDIAN KITCHEN
This is easily one of the best movies in its genre in at least the last two decades. And that can be seen from the rating that I have given in the end.
Now, what’s the genre which we are talking about?
Nothing can be more misleading than the title of this 2021 Malayalam movie (presently on Amazon Prime) when it comes to describing the genre of this movie. Yes, nearly half of this less than hundred minutes movie, is shot in the kitchen of a typical middle class South Indian home in a semi urban area. There are umpteen close-up shots of the ingredients, the cooking process and the utensils and the equipment and there is far more time devoted to the background sounds than dialogues. And yet, the movie is not about food!
It is, instead, a scathing commentary on the outdated customs and practices that cause the married women folk in such households to be treated, without any compunction whatsoever, as mere instruments to cater to the needs of the men. And strangely, the very women who have been such victims in the past, aid the men in this exercise. Life goes on as usual for everyone else, but for the woman, the kitchen becomes a prison of sorts. If you are a male and have had even a remote and fleeting exposure to such scenarios, however long back it might have been, I will challenge you that you will squirm uncomfortably in your seat a number of times while watching this.
While the movie shows that one could think that he or she is a deeply religious person and devoted to “tradition and customs(?)” and simultaneously subject the women to such hideous treatment, it would be unfair to accuse the director of trying to foment rebellion against deemed holy institutions soaked in sanctity.
The ending is on the lines of what Om Puri feels in the classic ARDHASATYA, but that’s the reason, why I have not given it a full 5 on 5 rating. As movie makers, there is a responsibility to show there is a shimmer of hope in the end, but Jeo Baby, the writer and director, has concluded it in a manner, which doesn’t indicate that.
But that doesn’t prevent the movie ( excellent acting by the three lead players) from making a powerful statement!
RATING: 4.5 out of 5
April 7th, 2021
And if after watching this, you require to watch a feel-good, light rom com, see the same director’s KILOMETRES AND KILOMETRES ( on Netflix). Even if you don’t get very entertained by this, you will at least get to know more about the famous Bullet Baba temple ( 40 kilometres from Jodhpur), where devotees worship, an Enfield Bullet motorcycle!
RATING: 3 out of 5
Vijay's Reviews and Random Ritings 