Review: The Great Indian Kitchen

 

I have been talking about the rise and rise of regional cinema for long and my recent post has also talked at length on the reasons for the same. And The Great Indian Kitchen (TGIK) is another of those gems from Malayalam cinema. TGIK at first look will seem like a film on woman and their liberation and the Sabarimala issue and the suppression that they face. The film is much bigger than what it meets the eye. It must be seen in a spaced out environment to understand the nuances in the screenplay. In the opening sequence of the film where the prospective bride (as usual the brilliant Suraj Venjaramoodu) comes to meet the prospective bridegroom (the talented Nimisha Sajayan), the entire family is watching them talk and there is very little that is left to privacy, inspite of them being alone in a room. Also, point to be noted, that leads here, have  a name but as viewers we do not get to know that till the end. And, that is where the film starts to open up the layers. The characters are nameless and have very little privacy to themselves; sets the tone for what is there to unfold.  

In the next 45-50 minutes we are treated to an amazing array of film craftmanship and how a technically solid film can do wonders to the plot and add to that the brilliant screenplay. The entire action of the film is set in the kitchen and the ASMR Cooking heightens the tempo. When the characters are cooking or getting the food on the table for the patriarch to wolf down, the sounds of the cutting, chopping, pots, pans, cleaning all add to the crescendo. Camera angles, face cuts, food looks all add to the moment. And as the two leads retire to the bed room the claustrophobia is visible through the deadpan camera angles that simply refuses to move. In a sequence, where the two are on the bed and there is a conversation about some confessions that Nimisha's character makes about the drudgery in their physical intimacy. It is a long sequence with very little dialogue and as the camera refuses to leave the face of the two, as viewer one will start to get intimidated and even feel restless too. At times may be claustrophobic. And, perhaps that is what Jeo Baby the director wants to showcase. These are brilliant moments and must be appreciated. 

With minimal dialogue, the film has to rely heavily on visuals and a lot of activities that the characters are portraying. Infact, the sullenness and dullness of the moments where the father in law is sitting on the couch or sleeping or lying and watching YouTube videos literally contrasts that to the hustle of the two ladies in the house. Or, the constant pestering that is required by Nimisha's character to get her husband to get a plumber to repair the leaked kitchen pipe is in direct contrast to the lecture that Suraj's character is giving in the class on Family and it's dynamics. Or, the next door girl Usha comes into help the family when Nimisha's has her periods to the moment when Suraj's paternal aunt comes to live with the family the second time when she has period. Two different people with two different approaches of how woman are addressing the same issue in different ways.

There are enough visual and verbal metaphors in the film to help viewers. A time when a relative (a literally embarrassing part played by Sidhartha Siva) comes calling and tries to help the family by cooking and the mess created thereafter is literally a metaphor on what men can do when they are simply trying to override the written rules. Or, when the two male patriarch drink tea in their cups; one a cup and the other a tea glass and in the end the same cups are used to serve tea again (cannot give out the spoiler here). Or when at the end there is a visual juxtaposition of the family portraits with the various kitchen sounds; Or when the Sabarimala temple opens in the backdrop of the ongoing agitation to enter the temple by the women; All this adds up to the final crescendo and is like a pressure cooker moment, waiting to explode.    

A technical marvel and some amazing acting from the two leads and backed by a ensemble cast of theatre actors of Calicut, TGIK was able to refresh me, heal me, detox me and most of all entertain me. The only place where I thought the director could have chopped off; the last 9 minute, which looked extra and was needless; it could have ended with the sequence of the protagonist walking off and the film ends. However, that aside, Jeo Baby has been able to create a classic out of minimalism and makes you wait for his next. It is about what can be achieved with a great story; with some brilliant acting and some exceptional technical finesse. The sequences play like pack of cards being used in a game and at times the sequences are virtually playing on auto-pilot. The chores of the house from cleaning to washing to drying to cooking to cutting to simply fetching the toothbrush and paste for the head of the family are all so routinized and you are waiting for something to happen. Infact, nothing happens and it is the next day and then it is the next day. That is where TGIK scores in making viewers feel a part of the narration and then gradually you start noticing fault lines. It is like a small crack on the car front view mirror and you ignore. But the more you drive the car, the crack starts expanding top or down depending where it originated. And then one day you can see that big thread across the car. TGIK is that small crack which keeps on expanding. As viewers you will never find a fault since it is difficult to pinpoint where is the fault. You know the male antagonist at home are at fault but there is hardly any aberration in their character. It is the La Dolce Vita moment of the lead, who is constantly looking to find a space to sew it and it is refusing to come together.     

More power to regional cinema and wish that Hindi cinema which is degenerating gets a message here or a wake up call at least. 

The Great Indian Kitchen is on Amazon (Imagine they had rejected the film when it went to them the first time). Go watch!