Officially adapted from Jon Favreau’s much appreciated Hollywood film with the same title, CHEF is first of all a far better film in terms of its core subject of food in comparison to earlier attempts made like CHEENI KUM and LUV SHUV TEY CHICKEN KHURANA. Secondly the project is not any scene to scene remake of its original. But a heartfelt Indian film, that can easily be quoted as a good example of how a westernized theme can be adapted in typical Indian settings adding the right ingredients and flavour resulting in a different film.
So if you have already seen the original then consider this as a different film in Hindi revolving around almost the same characters. In fact I would like to rate it better than the English film in terms of emotions and performances as a more relatable film.
CHEF begins on an unusual note with a mix of a few delightful and unrequired sequences. The kid comes a bit late in the film that slightly disturbs you in the beginning and the father-son’s initial scenes too seem to be awkward. But it picks up soon and you feel well connected with the two characters as they go on a trip to Delhi and Amritsar visiting places where Saif used to work in his past. And this turns out to be the best sequence of the film respectfully mentioning the concept of ‘Guru Ka Langar’ (Free Food Service) in reference to Golden Temple, Amritsar, that certainly remains a thoughtful insertion in the script as it happened to be an Indian film specifically talking about FOOD.
The middle portions or the second act of CHEF remains the most engaging one featuring some well-written dialogues and immensely likable performances. The preparation of the food truck and the road trip brings freshness into the film before it goes back to a routine, predictable path ending on an open happy note suggesting a family reunion. A few sudden developments also look like out of the place but the father-son relationship and their insightful interaction keeps you connected along with the subtle humour and a few ‘Food Porn’ visuals focusing on the good-looking dishes being prepared.
An emotional story told in a fine simplistic way CHEF is a decent family entertainer directed by Raja Krishna Menon. But it surely could have been much better with some strong elevating sequences coming at regular intervals. The film scores with a striking cinematography and art direction, but the same cannot be said about its background score. Plus it loses its major marks for its songs or music (Raghu Dixit plays a cameo too), that seems okay while watching the film, but finds no place in your heart and mind while you are moving out of the theater. And such emotional stories desperately need some really good, catchy compositions that force you to pay attention on their lyrics too.
As the father-son duo both Saif Ali Khan and Svar Kamble shine bright and remain thoroughly impressive and real in their mutual interactions. Good to see Saif back in his likable form displaying the typical wit too. Chandan Roy Sanyal gives a lovable performance but also doesn’t get much to do in the film. Milind Soman looks fresh in his short appearance and the supporting cast acts fine including Dinesh P. Nair (the driver), who could have contributed a lot more. However it’s the presence of Padmapriya Janakiraman, that infuses a certain warmth into the film that was actually missing in the (all men) original. She looks stunning and is a complete natural in her role of a single mother (ex-wife of Saif).
Summing up, here we have a positive film with no negative characters in the script offering some decent family entertainment. So do give it a try and don’t forget to take along the kids as the film does have a few sequences we often get to see in our homes while interacting with the young ones.
(Note: The article also got featured at UC-News Mobile App in October 2017)
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Shared below are views - Beyond the initial write-up with more interesting insights.
As mentioned in the review this is an official adaptation from Jon Favreau’s Hollywood movie with the same title, but still is a different film having its own identity revolving around almost the same characters.
The English CHEF largely uses TWITTER and social networking as its base for all the story developments but the Hindi version uses that only occasionally without giving it any major importance (that actually needs to be done in our real lives too). The sequences of father-son travel to Delhi, Amritsar with an insightful reference of ‘Guru ka Langar’ and their emotional interactions remain the major highlight of the film that sadly ends on the same routine ‘indicative family reunion’ note.
Where the English film is mostly an ‘all men’ movie, the Hindi version has got the warmth of a mother and that’s what makes it much more emotional than the original.
As a partial road movie it also gives you an important message of TRAVEL being the best teacher of the world and a traveller knowing much more than a person spending most of his life in the same place.
Lastly this is a rare positive film that has no negative characters as such in its script and essentially needs to be seen taking the teenage kids along spending a good time together.
Music remaining its biggest downer, this is also a new-age multiplex Hindi film that cannot even be titled with Hindi or Urdu words such as BAWARCHI or KHAANSAAMA translating the original one. So the title remains CHEF (as in the English film) targeting a specific section of audience accepting our questionable issues created with our own languages.
Rating : 3 / 5
