Tarla (2023) Review!!!

Synopsis – Explores Tarla Dalal’s journey and legacy as an iconoclast during the early liberalisation period, empowering women through the art of cooking.

My Take – Biopics have been the flavor of Hindi cinema for some time now, and the latest to get this treatment is Tarla Dalal, a name familiar in every Indian household. Often revered as the Julia Child of Indian vegetarian cuisine, Tarla Dalal was one of the earliest broadcast chefs before the age of YouTube kicked in and quick recipes became a fashion.

Along with selling about 10 million copies of her cookbooks, Tarla was also conferred with Padma Shri, which made her the only Indian woman from the field of cooking to receive such an award. She would go on to give women wings to cook easy recipes while also encouraging them to dream.

Years later, hers is a name that remains strongly etched in minds for being a successful homemaker who cooked her way to her ambition and independence. Personally, I recall watching her shows as a kid and finding them entertaining even back then.

In this ZEE5 release, debutante director Piyush Gupta, who co-wrote the film with Gautam Ved, aims to chronicle her journey from being a modest housewife to one of the most celebrated chefs of India and a household name, whose recipes fed many singles deprived of home-cooked meals and helped young women impress their in-laws and husbands so that they could have their way after marriage.

And while the resulting film is entertaining enough, one can’t help but feel that the inspirational story could have been elevated several notches by better writing and direction. It’s feel good cinema with not many layers to unravel just a straight and oversimplified narration.

Most importantly, one wishes the story had more food though and a glorification of her recipes. Other than that, the film offers a little bit of everything, delivering a satisfying and convenient experience. There is not much complexity there, but it feels comfortable and is easily digestible.

The story follows Tarla (Huma Qureshi), a young woman in 1970 India when women were married off before they could finish college and men were expected to get a wife to cook and clean after them. But Tarla has aspirations to do something in life but till date has been unable to figure out her passion. And before she could figure out, she is married off to Nalin Dalal (Sharib Hashmi), a quality manager based in Mumbai.

But, her dream are long forgotten, as she gets busy taking care of her home and raising their three children. Until one day, opportunity comes knocking. Following her cooking coaching class with the young daughter of her neighbor (Bharati Achrekar), Tarla finds herself pursued by many such women to teach.

Soon, she is running her own cooking classes and writing her own cooking books. However, the more Tarla tastes success, the more distasteful things turn at home, particularly as Nalin finds himself dissuaded by the society for being too supportive of his wife and for taking a back seat.

Here, director Piyush Gupta and co-writer Gautam Ved craft a narrative that warms the heart and whets the appetite for a triumphant story. Skillfully sets the stage of the time when patriarchal norms ruled and women’s dreams were often put on the back burner. While we have come a long way since then, it’s not surprising to witness this situation even today, where a woman as a homemaker is expected to get her most, no matter how hard she works in her professional life.

However, director Piyush Gupta chooses simplistic storytelling instead of giving it a nuanced touch. It is just too simple, and just as heartwarming as a comfortable home-cooked meal devoid of fancy things. Yet one cannot help but wonder if the excellent and ready-made story at the hands of the filmmakers would have been something else if polished further.

There’s a lack, and the final result is that no particular scene or dialogue in the film is worth remembering. It’s also surprisingly how little attention is paid to her iconic recipes that changed the course of home cooking back then and greatly influenced kitchens. In a tale centered on the culinary world, one would expect a visual feast that tantalizes the senses.

Given that Tarla’s story was that of a simple middle-class housewife with no earth shattering ups and downs, they should have also focused more on celebrating her success rather than just limiting the screenplay to Tarla’s struggles to keep up with her newfound profession and household. It spends too much time setting her up for success and leaves less time for us to revel in Tarla’s eventual victory.

Performance wise, Huma Qureshi, despite not looking anything like the real life Tarla, serves up a captivating turn. Like the narrative, there is a lot of nuance in her portrayal, but that is only because the script does not require it. She sails along effortlessly.

Her performance is heightened by Sharib Hashmi’s portrayal of Nalin, who adds a zesty flavor, infusing the film with an unconventional portrayal that inspires audiences with his progressive outlook on life and relationships. In fact, Hashmi has some of the best moments in the film and he owns them. In a supporting turn, Bharati Achrekar also leaves a mark with her bubbly nature. On the whole, ‘Tarla’ is mellow biopic that serves an inspirational story with a simplified narration.