Tarla

Tarla Dalal. She was a unique woman. The only Padmashree recipient so far from the field of cooking. The day I found out that a biopic based on her life was being made, I started looking forward to it. It's a lovely movie.

The story and screenplay keep the movie at a certain pace. It never gets sluggish. The songs either take the story forward or enhance the mood introduced in the preceding scenes. Huma Qureshi and Sharib Hashmi have portrayed their roles sincerely. Huma is building a good body of work. Sharib is a gem. There's good chemistry between the lead pair too.

The film is more about Tarla's relationship with her husband and her constant struggle with her roles as a wife, mother and caretaker. I would have loved to see more about how she developed the recipes or how she learnt new ones.

The film scores well also on the time travel aspect. The costumes and surroundings give you the feel of the 70s and 80s. The makers may have missed a few gaps, like they've shown a Kinetic Honda in what may be late 60s or early 70s.

What would viewers want to see in a story about an ordinary homemaker who became a celebrity chef?

Firstly, how did she do it?

Next, why her books and show were a big success?

This film is more about her relationship with her husband and the struggles between her different roles as homemaker, mother and wife. Her place as a pioneer Indian cook book author and TV chef is not even highlighted.

The movie gets elevated by the wonderful performances of the lead actors. Huma Qureshi plays her role very well. Sharib Hashmi is a master performer and plays his part with ease.

Music by Suhit Abhayankar, Nilotpal Bora and Rohan Vinayak, with an added performance from Rekha Bharadwaj, is soulful and melodic.

Notes to the film-makers

• Both, Tarla Dalal and Huma Qureshi are beautiful. Then why give a set of false teeth to Huma?

• Food presentation? Where is it? Kindly stop payment to the food stylist or at least ask for a refund.

There's not much in the movie about Tarla Dalal that we already didn't know. But we get to know a lot about her supportive husband. At times one wonders whether it's his biopic.

A biopic of a cook "Tarla Dalal" touches lot of sensitive topics with delicacy like her dishes. Huma Quereshie once again has shown her range in this movie , if you really want to see her range see "Monica O my darling " Probably her previous movie and this one in one shot. Sharib "Nalin Dalal ,husband of Tarlaa Dalal" is a fresh face they have provided while show casing the romance between husband and wife. He is shown as a helping ,caring husband who is always backing Tarla no matter what , and please focus on the final scene between husband and wife where he breaks. I recommend that scene to be watched by every male of south asia . A lovely movie watch . Please remove chicken chicken ( the songs of this movie which I did not find so soothing !) and consume.

Caution : Don't watch with empty stomach , has lot of food in it.

Tarla is a biographical drama film directed by piyush gupta.

Huma qureshi is playing the titular role but the more interesting character tends to be sharib hashmi's. Nalin dalal gets a more humane arc than the showstopper tarla. And that boils down to the acting performances of the two. Sharib hashmi is understated, very nuanced whereas huma qureshi tends to go overboard with her expressions. Her fake teeth, too don't help the case. What saves the range difference from shambolism is the chemistry between them. Though, no other character gets space in the film, but they manage to keep us engaged.

The writing is confused of sorts. It wants to make a doorway to freedom through the kitchen but never fully establishes it. There is no closure to the event that some society neighbours closed her tuition center, and what happened after. This half hearted writing harms the film. The dialogue writing is good. The cinematography is decent. The production design never succeeds to transport to the time era. It looks more like a contemporary piece than what actual tarla dalal used to dwell a world in.

The music is praiseworthy. The song by rekha bharadwaj touches the music loving instinct of the viewers.

It's a sweet movie about a woman who raises to fame from humble beginnings. Entertaining enough to watch in one stretch. Sweet enough to watch with your kids around.

I do wish the story had more food though. Glorification of her food was kind of a missing element here.

I recall watching her shows as a kid and finding them entertaining even back then because of the way she spoke.

The movie does make a pun here and there depicting how she became a household name in a Sanjeev Kapoor dominated era. I wish they had expanded on that more.

Overall a good watch to see with the family at home with a few snacks from her recipes.