Chefs a la Bollywood!

They say that a route to a person's heart is through their stomach. This week BollyCurry takes you on an aromatic journey of movies which highlight an important slice of life: food.

Bawarchi - A 1972 release which is considered Hrishikesh Mukherjee's best which also inspired David Dhawan's Govinda starrer, Hero No 1. A young man, Raghu (Rajesh Khanna), comes as a cook to serve a dysfunctional family. He claims he has worked for many affluent personalities and he is hired. He cements his place with smooth talks and his magical cooking skills. He can chop vegetables in a blink of an eye, fry bhajias, add masalas and lemon to the colas and even stir two pots at the same time. He often mouths "Taa-ta-raah" when he is triumphant. Clad in a simple pair of brown shorts white shirt and the Gandhi cap, Raghu slowly brings about a change in the family and brings peace in the warring family.

Cheeni Kum - One of Bollywood's finest chef movie's title is ironic as the 64 year old uptight Budhadeb Gupta ( Amitabh Bachchan) definitely lacks sweetness. He is the owner and head chef of Spice 6, London's top Indian restaurants a fact which he never lets others forget. Enter Nina Verma (Tabu), 34 years old, who walks in to his haven and changes everything. She complains of the Zafrani pulao which does not go down well with the pompous chef and they have an animated argument. On finding out it was indeed his restaurant's mistake he decides to make amends. Lot of food talk and tips are shared throughout the movie.

Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana - This is a movie about the protagonist's search for a well kept family secret. Omi Khurana (Kunal Kapoor) comes back to Punjab as his London dreams didn't take off and he owes a gangster some money. The grandfather is unwell and has forgotten the secret recipe that is the family's pride. Omi pretends to be a lawyer but ends up discovering the secret recipe of the popular Chicken Khurana, which is responsible for the Khurana Dhaba's success. A love story is also weaved into the plot.

Ramji Londonwaley - A heart warming comedy, Ramji Londonwaley is the story of a naive Bihari cook whose dream is to own his own restaurant, and have it inaugurated by Amitabh Bachchan. It's a remake of the Tamil movie Nala Damayanti. Ramji (R. Madhavan) goes to London to earn money as he needs to pay his sister's dowry. Things don't go as planned and he has to avoid getting deported, so he marries Samira (Samita Bhangargi). Not only does Ramji win a cooking competition, thus earning the work visa, but he also manages to fulfill his dream.

Duplicate - Shah Rukh Khan plays two roles effortlessly, Mannu Dada the criminal and Raju the aspiring chef. He is given a task to prepare food for a Japanese delegation, food is his life and Raju even bursts into a song with references to dal, pickle, chutneys and the vegetables. He uses the knife like a sword - cutting vegetables in mid air. He also manages to woo the manager Sonia (Juhi Chawla) in the process.

English Vinglish -Touted as the best comeback movie of recent times, Shashi Godbole (Sridevi Kapoor) is a home maker who sells ladoos on the side to keep herself busy. She is taken for granted by those around her and often ridiculed by her husband and her daughter due to her poor grasp of English. She ends up going to attend her niece's wedding in US a few weeks before her family and she takes an English speaking course where she meets a French Chef. Shashi breaks the stereotypical housewife image and manages to impress everyone with her culinary skills and a perfect toast in perfect English to the newly married couple.

Other movies which deserve a mention are Chandni Chowk to China where Akshay Kumar plays Siddhu, a vegetable cutter with eye popping chopping skills, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani where Prem (Ranbeer Kapoor) the son of a Dhaba owner takes a job as a halwai who makes ladoos and jalebis at lightning speed, and Salaam Namaste where Nik (Saif Ali Khan) forgoes his career as an architect to become a cook who loves everything but pizza.

Usually it's the mothers who dole out mouth watering food but in Bollywood it's the men who have the author backed food centric roles. Hopefully you enjoyed the food journey BollyCurry took you on and will return with more next week.

Writer:  Vibha.B
Editor: Shreya S. & Gunia M.
Graphics: Saraa K.