RATING: 3
MOVIE: Chef
CAST: Saif Ali Khan, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Svar Kamble
DIRECTOR: Raja Krishna Menon
GENRE: Bollywood drama
Saif Ali Khan got into the shoes of Jon Favreau with his latest release Chef, which is an official adaptation of the latter's 2014 Hollywood flick by the same name. And guess what? Saif did the job pretty well. But there could have been a lot more to make it more spicy and delicious.
STORYLINE
Roshan Kalra (Saif) becomes a popular chef in the US after going through a lot of hardships. In his pursuit to become one of the best in his profession, Roshan's bonding with his wife Radha (Padmapriya Janakiraman) turns sour and the two get divorced. However, they maintain a cordial relationship for their son Ari, played by newcomer Svar Kamble.
Radha raises Ari all alone in India as Roshan chased his dream in the US. This leaves the little boy always craving for his father's love and presence. After being fired from his job for punching a dissatisfied customer, Roshan comes back to India to spend some quality time with his son.
With some turn of events, Roshan starts his own food truck service, and relives his passion for cooking. In the process, he is joined by a good friend played by Chandan Roy Sanyal, and also Ari. However, Roshan finds himself caught in a dilemma: Whether he should continue to do what he does- cook good food for people around him- or go after a successful career of a chef in the US.
PERFORMANCES
Saif is undoubtedly a fine actor and the role of a modern day chef suits him well. His chemistry with both his ex-wife and his son looks adorable. Also, the actor portrays the emotional scenes pretty well, without making it look over the top.
Padmapriya, a popular actress in the south, made her Hindi debut with Chef. She does justice to her role of a mature and independent lady. Newcomer Svar appears to be a big box of talent. The child actor certainly makes an impressive debut. Other supporting actors also perform well.
POSITIVES
Chef is a light-hearted movie that has a very natural treatment. Director Raja Krishna Menon shows the beauty of Kerala and the charm of Delhi in some brillaint strokes. There are moments of light humour that make the movie more entertaining. Having no distracting songs, Chef is short and crisp. The storyline is not exactly same as the original film.
NEGATIVES
Although Saif's character is shown to be very passionate about cooking, he is mostly shown preparing just pasta. The film had a scope of entertaining the viewers with varied dishes, but for some reason, the director chose to show Saif's character prepare only pasta and a self-invented dish. Hence, it fails to showcase the wide range of cuisine that a passionate master chef should have.
The climax of the film appears to be vague. While the overall treatment of Chef is quite natural, it abruptly turns into a happy-ending, leaving a lot unexplained.
VERDICT
Saif's Chef lacks certain basic and essential ingredients that would have made it much more delicious. Still, it is pleasant enough to satisfy your appetite for a good movie.
