What a wonderful, sweet little film!.. I think another reviewer on here has rather missed the point-and I completely disagree about the quality of acting-we all know what will eventually happen, but it shouldn't stop us enjoying the journey getting there... I shall gloss over the plot: two brothers fall out, split their mother's cookbook into two halves-starters and main courses-and open their own rival restaurants. The daughter/niece resolves to heal their 10-year rift upon her engagement, and get them both to her wedding... As much as anything else, this is pure food porn, with countless mouthwatering dishes passing before our eyes... There is a climax, a twist and a reveal, but all ends up right in the end... I was drawn in from the first minute after seeing the beautiful Amara Karan on screen-she stole the show, but there were plenty of good performances, mainly by the Asian actors, although Tom Mison held his own. A good film to watch on a wet Sunday afternoon, especially if you can rustle up some daal and naan to eat while watching-this film will make you hungry!.. Interestingly, the Holi footage looked authentic, and although having subtitles may put off some viewers, stick with it-how many non-Indians speak Hindi, and it all adds to the authenticity!.. A surprise guest appearance from Madhur Jaffrey (a true goddess of sub-continental cooking-I own at least a dozen of her books myself), and another by Hardeep Singh Kohli made it even more fun. For those of you over the pond, this may go some way to explaining why Indian culture, especially food, is so deeply rooted in Britain (there is an Indian restaurant on every high street, in every village in the UK). This film was mainly set in Leicester, which I have never visited, but is home to the largest 'Indian' population in the UK. It now hosts the largest Diwali (Hindu festival of lights) celebration outside India herself. It's population can trace their ancestry back to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but also, Kenya (my home), Uganda, South Africa and the Caribbean. This was a wonderful 'feel-good' movie (not least because of the food, but then I've been addicted to Indian food since I was three years old), and probably a great film to watch with friends while sharing food (and drink-remember Hindus and Sikhs both enjoy a tipple), but I have two questions for the producers: firstly, why was there not more fuss made over winning the 'Kings of Curry' competition?.. And, far more importantly, why did we not get to see the wedding which we all knew was coming?.. I was most disappointed... A 'Bollywood'-style musical ending would have been the cherry on the Peda!.. Oh, and I should add, I'm heading off to Leicester as soon as I can!..
Update: I have still not made it to Leicester, but have attempted some of the recipes in this film (the chicken and asparagus is wonderful)... I'd forgotten how beautiful Amara Khan was, despite seeing her in "The Darjeeling Limited", and enjoyed seeing (again) the passion that cooking can evolve... I am about to start cooking this week's daal... It will last from tomorrow (Monday) until Friday, and this is one of the films that made me experiment until I got the recipe perfect... Oh, and if you were wondering, I am white English/German, and my wife is Irish/Italian-not a drop of "Indian" blood between us...
Update: I have still not made it to Leicester, but have attempted some of the recipes in this film (the chicken and asparagus is wonderful)... I'd forgotten how beautiful Amara Khan was, despite seeing her in "The Darjeeling Limited", and enjoyed seeing (again) the passion that cooking can evolve... I am about to start cooking this week's daal... It will last from tomorrow (Monday) until Friday, and this is one of the films that made me experiment until I got the recipe perfect... Oh, and if you were wondering, I am white English/German, and my wife is Irish/Italian-not a drop of "Indian" blood between us...