The Great Indian Kitchen Tamil Movie Review : An efficient remake that adheres to the original

Cast: Aishwarya Rajesh, Rahul Ravindran, Poster Nandhakumar, Yogi Babu

Director: Kannan

He queries her, "Samaikka pudikuma" (Do you enjoy cookery). She states matter-of-factly, "Samaika teriyum (I can prepare)," and he responds, "Enakku saapida pudikkum (I enjoy eating)" in jest.

The two leads of the most recent Tamil film The Great Indian Kitchen, Rahul Ravindran and Aishwarya Rajesh, have a lighthearted discussion when they first meet. They then get married, and the wedding looks lovely and colourful, with almost nothing resembling what happens in the bride's life after the service.

And by saying that, it's not meant to imply that she experiences a horrible event like in some movies. The worst thing that can happen in life is that things shift.

This critically praised Malayalam film's Tamil remake repeatedly depicts the monotony and sameness of cooking. In another commercial movie, Aishwarya Rajesh would wake up, go to the kitchen, do her chores, prepare the food for the day, and clean the utensils. However, in this horrifyingly realistic portrayal of how life changes for women after marriage, this would take up the majority of the 95-minute running time.

If you enjoy watching cooking videos on Instagram, why not attempt some new recipes? Watch The Great Indian Kitchen to see how that cooking experiment might actually go; in fact, that's exactly what happens on the one occasion when the males in the house decide to prepare.

The movie raises some important issues regarding patriarchy and how some men handle the women in their home, particularly in trying times. This Kannan-directed Tamil adaptation is merely a polished version of the 2021 Malayalam original, which starred Nimisha Sajayan and Suraj Venjaramoodu and sparked discussions about the role men play in domestic chores. Like the original, this one concentrates on the commonplace to elicit extraordinary feeling; for example, the shot of the overflowing water tap or the shot of the kitchen sink clogged with leftover vegetable scraps may not be aesthetically appealing, but it effectively conveys the message.

Aishwarya Rajesh is outstanding in that scene when her rage hits its peak, just like the mountain of trash that is piling up in the trash can. She is filled with rage, and to a significant extent, so are we.

The marriage she has with Rahul Ravindran, who plays her husband, is something we don't quite experience. I wished Kannan had given this topic more context. There is an unusual occasion when she discusses his lack of table manners for the first time. Instead of igniting a conversation or providing us with insight into their relationship, that scenario just fizzles out with an irate husband leaving the room. The dining room and the kitchen are the two most noticeable settings in the movie, which has a small cast (mostly the pair and the man's father, played by 'Poster' Nandhakumar). Yogi Babu, who shows up one day without warning, offers some sort of diversion, but his guest role doesn't really contribute much to the proceedings.

The Great Indian Kitchen's one-sided treatment of the subject it chooses to address is a problem. In contrast to the Malayalam adaptation, where everything seemed to flow naturally, in a few sequences here it seems forced in order to make a point. It might have been more helpful to have at least one scenario that showed Rahul succeeding or Aishwarya making a mistake.

That being said, The Great Indian Cuisine is a crucial movie. The Tamil version may convey its purpose to a newer set of audiences, and that's more than enough to make modern patriarchy practitioners sit up and take notice. The Malayalam original was watched by a large audience on OTT platforms.