Food Lessons from Hindi Cinema in 2018

Another year is ending. It is the time of year-end lists. I usually do my best scenes list but this year, I thought to write something on the food and the lessons we got from it in the movies of this year. After all, food is something that sustains us all. And, as Sehmat's mother Teji (Soni Razdan) says in Raazi, "Khali pet iraade nahi bharte." Truly, the strongest intentions fall weak on an empty stomach.

Food choices became the subject of socio-religious commentary mirroring the real-life polarized climate between different communities in some films. In Mulk, a Hindu man secretly relishes non-vegetarian kababs and korma but pretends to be a vegetarian in front of the society. Some Hindus would come and attend functions in their Muslim neighbors' homes but would not eat anything there, even if special vegetarian food is served to them. Likewise, in Love Per Square Foot, Sanjay (Vicky Kaushal) and Karina (Angira Dhar) belong to different religions. Sanjay's parents eat the brownies made by Karina's mother only after she tells them that they are eggless. During their conversation, Sanjay's father Bhaskar (Raghubir Yadav) says that in their home, everyone is a vegetarian, and Karina's mother Blossom (Ratna Pathak Shah) responds that in their house, everyone is a non-vegetarian, thereby, raising concerns on the compatibility of the married life of their children. It is Sanjay's mother Lata (Supriya Pathak) who comes to the rescue when she says that let the kids decide their own life. In Mukkabaaz, Shravan's coach (Ravi Kishan) is almost lynched to death by the goons of Bhagwaan Das (Jimmy Sheirgill). However, he conspired in fake news and let out the word that there was beef that was being eaten at the house and he actually saved the coach. This is again inspired by some recent events where gau-rakshaks have indulged in the lynching of people whom they suspected to be cow smugglers. 

Food brings out the contrast in the personalities of Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) and Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor) in Padmaavat. Khilji devours red meat with his bare hands, while Ratan Singh eats vegetarian dishes, served in plates, representing barbarism and etiquette, respectively. One of the other scenes in the film also involves food when Ratan Singh invites Khilji to his palace. Khilji is a little suspicious of the intentions, so, he changes the plate offered to him with Ratan's and then changes it back, which makes Ratan laugh. It is a clever scene that depicts the mind games between the two. In Raazi, food is a source of confrontation. As a new daughter-in-law, Sehmat (Alia Bhatt) makes parathas for everyone in the house. However, Abdul (Arif Zakaria) questions her reasons for doing the same. He admonishes her that she does not know the eating preferences of the household members and she should have stayed out of the kitchen. As parts of the film are based in Kashmir, at some other stage, Sehmat asks for loquat but her mother says it is not its season but says that she had made badaam ka sherbet for Sehmat.

The women in Lust Stories again make a comment on their lust through their food choices. Three out of the four short stories in the anthology film end with women talking about food. A piece of mithaai provides a sweet feeling to Sudha (Bhumi Pednekar) who gets to experience lust for some moments in her life. In an earlier scene, the girl who is getting married to Sudha's employer Ajit (Neil Bhoopalam) picks up a cookie and asks him, "You want to share half?" Sudha has shared the same man with her in some ways. When Reena (Manisha Koirala) leaves the house, she compliments Libertina (aptly named) that the fish fry she made was great, reflecting the game that she played with the two men in her life. Megha (Kiara Advani) wants to just have ice cream when her husband Paras (Vicky Kaushal) asks her final decision to move back with him which is nothing but another term for the fulfillment of women's hasrat (desire).

In a lovely shot in Lust Stories, Sudha puts lemon juice over a plate of poha. We see poha appear again in Andhadhun. Sakhu (Chaya Kadam) serves Akash (Ayushmann Khurana) a plate of poha when she is trying to hatch a plan to steal his kidney. There is another variety of poha in the film called the Chinese poha that Rasika (Ashwini Kalsekar), the police inspector's wife, serves him which he absolutely hates. In fact, all the women in this film get a scene where they feed something to the men. The Machiavellian Simi (Tabu) prepares crab meat with her hands covered in red sauce as if portending the future where she will have the blood of her husband on her hands. Sophie (Radhika Apte) also makes an omelette for Akash which he calls it the best that he ever ate.

We saw some men also trying to cook for their wives and their daughters in some films. In Sui Dhaaga: Made In India, Mauji's father (Raghubir Yadav) tries his hand at making food for his sick wife as Mauji (Varun Dhawan) and Mamta (Anushka Sharma) are delayed because of work. The rotis don't seem to turn out that well as shown by Mamta's expressions. In Pad Man, the trope of maa ke haath ke khaana is reversed to become the papa ke haath ke khaana where Pari's IIT Professor father (Suneel Sinha) makes food for her so that she can miss him when she is married. He learned cooking because one can truly enjoy fatherhood by becoming a mother. Baap hone ka mazaa maa ban ke hi aata hai. He makes the most delicious vathal kuzhambu for Pari (Sonam Kapoor). Food teaches an important lesson to the enterprising Laxmi (Akshay Kumar), too, where he gets the idea of compressing the pads while eating some puffy chhole bhature. 

Food played a role in budding romances between the lovers in some films. In Laila Majnu, Qais (Avinash Tiwary) flirts with Laila (Tripti Dimri) by secretly paying for pastries at Chaai Jaai restaurant. Later, he buys pastries for all her friends in college on her birthday. And, then, again, he plays a server at a wedding where he offers her a pastry and slips his phone number along with it. Qais and Laila also love to eat softy ice cream. In Once Again, food becomes the medium of communication between Tara (Shefali Shah) and Amar (Neeraj Kabi) where she sends him lunchboxes from the Mangalorean restaurant that she runs. In a lovely scene, Tara puts her hands on Amar's face to make him smell the scent of the herbs that she had put in the salad. Like their old-school romance, the kitchen in Tara's restaurant consists only of traditional types of equipment. When she cooks fish, she uses a furnace where she puts the raw fish wrapped in banana leaves and covers them with sand.

It seemed that food had a short supporting role in some films, too. In Manmarziyaan, there are lovely shots of samosas, jalebis, laddoos, and lassi during the wedding preparations. Kaka Ji (Saurabh Sachdeva) is disappointed when he sees ghiya at dinner and sarcastically replies back to his wife that he will give her divorce only after she makes kofte. He also tries to convince Robbie (Abhishek Bachchan) to select a girl as she knows how to make achaar. At another stage, Rumi (Taapsee Pannu) tries to please Robbie when she lovingly makes paneer ke pakode for him. We see something similar in October as well where people are often seen eating and the food is shot exquisitely. At one stage, Dan (Varun Dhawan) and his friend eat khichdi (which was also in Piku) while discussing Shiuli's (Banita Sandhu's) accident. Later, Dan becomes a sous chef at a top hotel where he prepares pasta and salmon, reflecting his transformation as an individual who finally grows up. 

Street food continued to mark its presence in many movies this year as well. In Manmarziyaan, Rumi eats gol gappe whenever she is angry. She wants them to be extra spicy even if they will burn her tongue. The friends in Veere Di Wedding talk about the problems in their life while gorging gol gappe. In Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Sonu (Kartik Aaryan) tries to convince his Titu (Sunny Singh) to not marry when they are out on the streets eating kababs. In Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, an American spy manages to extract vital clues from the team members working on the confidential nuclear project while eating chaat. The spy claims to love teekha but cannot bear the heat and has to spend the next morning battling dysentery. In Sui Dhaaga: Made In India, Mauji and his father have chowmein from a street shop after a fight with a neighbor.

Food assists the warring sisters in Pataakha to realize that they cannot survive without each other. Badki (Radhika Madan) eats a raw bhindi (okra) from the field, a reminder of the time when she put red chillis in her younger sister's favorite dish. On the other side, Chhutki (Sanya Malhotra) drinks a glass of milk, of which her elder sister ran a business. Only after this, they start recuperating from their health issues. In Karwaan, food is used for the celebration of death which it treats with a lightness. Like a success party on a journey reaches its destination, death is treated in the same way here. The acerbic Shaukat (Irrfan Khan) makes mutton and Tanya (Mithila Palkar) bakes a delicious chocolate cake after the funeral ceremony of their relatives. Earlier on this road trip, Avinash (Dulquer Salman) meets his ex-girlfriend Rumi (Kriti Kharbanda) whom he had ghosted in college. He gets to have a grilled cheese sandwich at her place and learns some valuable life lessons from her as well. 

In Pari, Rukhsana (Anushka Sharma) is desperate for food which leads her to eat leftovers from the dustbin. Arnab (Parambrata Chatterjee) stops her and prepares rice for her and gives her all of it which she devours like a hungry child. In Bioscopewala, Rehmat Khan (Danny Denzongpa) comes to stay at Minnie's (Geetanjali Thapa's) place and is searching for food in the refrigerator when Minnie catches him there. Like a young kid, he has peed all over the floor and it is only later we learn that he is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

There are some other small but worth-mentioning food moments in films as well. In Badhaai Ho, Priyamvada (Neena Gupta) makes Rooh Afza for her friends at the kitty party at her house. Her husband Jeetender Kaushik (Gajraj Rao) brings mangoes for his family which he does not share with either his neighbors or subordinates. In Zero, Aafia (Anushka Sharma) and Bauua Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) eat bread pakoras in their first meeting, almost reminiscent of Shruti (also, Anushka Sharma) and Bittoo (Ranveer Singh) in Band Baaja Baaraat gorging and swearing on bread pakoras, adding to the film's myriad meta-themes. In Mitron, Jai (Jackky Bhagnani) wants to be a cook but his father is not convinced. He manages to find a business-savvy partner in Avni (Krtika Kamra) and start a successful food truck business. In Fanney Khan, Adhir (Rajkummar Rao) makes eggplant noodles for his friend Prashant Sharma (Anil Kapoor) which he really likes. Dhadak opens with a khaane ki jung with a competition that requires eating mounds of items, such as kachoris, ghewar, and green chillis that will surely put one off food for some time. Additionally, this year, we continued to see films with confrontational dinner scenes (such as Hichki, Manto, Raid, Raazi, and Veerey Di Wedding) and films that had food in their titles (such as Jalebi, Khajoor Pe Atke, and Rajma Chawal)

Hope you liked the above and did not hate the other writings on this blog that I wrote this year. I will try to improve and write more and better. Let's see what the next year brings. So Long, 2018!

Other Reading:
What I Learnt from the Movies in 2017—Link

Dialogue of the Day:
"Khali pet iraade nahi bharte."
—Teji, Raazi

P.S.—I run a Twitter account called @FoodInFilms. Unfortunately, I have not updated it for films from 2018. I will try to do that soon. Follow it, if you like.