Tadka - Love is cooking

 

Name    : 'Tadka - Love is cooking'

Cast      : Nana Patekar, Shriya Saran, Taapsee Pannu, Ali Fazal, Murali Sharma

Director: Prakash Raj

OTT      : Zee5

Though the genre is 'romance for the middle-aged', surprisingly my tween daughter enjoyed watching it till the end with me. Set against the backdrop of Goa, this directorial debut of Prakash Raj, a remake of the Malayalam film "Salt N Pepper', is a delightful fare! The romance is triggered through a wrong number dialed, and the plot thickens over slow flame into a soulful serving indeed.

Nana's character is a deep, sensitive character who views life and people through the lens of food (or how it is prepared). True to his vocation of archeology, he lives in the past and is fast losing his grip on the present, due to which he is still single in his middle age. His friends mock his rejection of potential life partners based on their culinary likes. He, however, explains in latter part of the movie, why that is important for him. The bond between the protagonists (who do not see each other in the flesh until the very end), between friends, and the other couple in the movie, is brought out really well by the director. 

Nana Patekar is 71 in real life and Shriya Saran is 40. Its amazing that he managed to play a 50-something character so realistically - he truly rocks!

I, and my daughter, have been people who never set a lot of store by food. We cannot wax eloquent on how a dish is prepared, its aroma, texture, quality etc. - for us food is just fuel to keep our bodies functioning. But to many people its an art form, its something to talk about and definitely something to enjoy at leisure. This movie taught me that its also something that reminds people of key people in their lives. Food is sometimes closely tied to emotion. We have talked about audio-visual memories & flesh memories. But food memories run deep too. 

As they say, stomach is the second brain of the body. Possibly, the tongue is the second heart? The movie is a treat for all foodies, romantics and Nana Patekar fans.