'Gulabjaam' Review: A not-to-be-missed Gulabjaam...

Film: Gulabjaam

Director: Sachin Kundalkar

Cast: Sonali Kulkarni, Siddharth Chandekar, Renuka Shahane, Madhura Deshpande, Shamin Pathan and others.

Like Water for Chocolate, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, Chocolate, Delicatessen, Julie & Julia. In all these films food offers the perfect backdrop for the plot to unfold. Hindi cinema has done this with varying success with films Bawarchi, Ramji Londonwaley, Cheeni Kum, Stanley ka Dabba, Lunchbox, Luv Shuv Tey Chikcen Khurana and English Vinglish. And now Marathi cinema takes the bar right up there with its first food film by Sachin Kundalkar's Gulabjaam. Cooking and celebrating food is at the heart of this delightful film. Food often becomes a metaphor for life and living, evokes nostalgia and even awakens feelings you didn't know existed.

A Londoner in Pune, accidentally discovers a cook who sends packed dabbas to people. How that meeting sets off a sequence for an entire story to unravel is to Kundalkar and Tejas Modak's (they've scripted this Gulabjaam together) credit. But one hardly expects any less from Kundalkar who has in the past directed Nirop and wrote Gandha – both getting him national awards.

The power packed performance that stays with you long after the film is Sonali Kulkarni's. She brings to her Radha Agarkar an organic vulnerability and strength that sets the tone for her character's trajectory. The perfect foil to her comes from Siddharth Chandekar whose charm just blows you away. Seen in Classmates, Lagna Pahave Karun, Zenda and Satrangi Re before, his Aditya Naik holds his own in front of Kulkarni, his senior known for her acting chops.

Chandekar's sharp clothes, dark glasses and hairdo give his character enough of a feel of the expat Maharashtrian. Just like the late Laxmikant Berde's son Abhinay who debuted in Tee Saddhya Kaay Karte? The generous baby fat Chandekar carries on him giving his character the right kind of man-boy feel. And this Sameer Dharmadhikari look-alike imbues each of his scenes with a latent energy that shines through.

Whether it is Renuka Shahane (in a small but impactful role), the other supporting cast the music by the Kerala band Thaikudam Bridge or the background music by Debarpito Saha - each of these comes together to make this a perfect Gulabjaam.

In the end this beautifully fried Gulabjaam seems to be dunked in the syrup a bit abruptly as it ties it all up at too quick a pace, quite unlike the languorous lingering pace of the film otherwise. And yet, overall, this endearing film's a must-watch...

Rating: ****1/2 (4.5 stars)