Tarla Review: Comfort Food

As much as one would have liked a glimpse into the lady's culinary excellence,Tarla acquires its endearing character in Huma Qureshi and Sharib Hashmi's harmonious display of doting husband and wife, observes Sukanya Verma.

Huma Qureshi neither looks nor sounds anything like Tarla Dalal.

She isn't trying to.

It's not the celebrity cook's physicality but aspirational attributes in achieving that all important 'kuch' from life Huma means to emulate in her zestful portrayal.

At a time when a woman's financial independence and career dreams were an exception not rule, Tarla Dalal broke out of her conservative surroundings and domestic monotony to share her recipe of success with the world.

What began in the kitchen as a prerequisite every good Gujarati girl must possess for the sake of a good match became a passion after three kids and 12 years of marriage in a bid to stop her husband from drooling over his colleague's murgh musallam.

A staunch vegetarian, she invents a lip-smacking alternative in a potato-substituted version of the same. Just as she's making headway in creating veggie versions of meat recipes, word gets around about her food and fundas -- kitchen jail hai ki nahi, khana chaabi ban sakti hai.

Tarla's broadly held belief -- cooking empowers -- makes her a huge hit among young girls signing up for her home cooking classes. Recipe books and cookery show offers subsequently follow.

As always though, a woman is pulled down for following her heart.

Tarla's guilt too burgeons when her supportive husband's career dwindles while hers is soaring, leaving their kids feeling neglected and old-fashioned mother fuming.

This pandering to dramatic cliches puts a dent on the biopic's cheerful energy but Tarla's low-key storytelling never lets its conflicts get out of hand.

Director Piyush Gupta's small-scale feminism acknowledges the social conditioning of that time even if the period details are purely cursory.

What is sorely missing is the yum factor.

For a movie centred around a chef, Gupta's inability to celebrate the quality that made her iconic in the first place is a bummer.

As much as one would have liked a glimpse into the lady's culinary excellence, Tarla acquires its endearing character in Huma Qureshi and Sharib Hashmi's harmonious display of doting husband and wife.

Where Huma provides Tarla with own personal touches, infusing her in charm, impatience, aplomb and wonder, Hashmi's supportive significant other cuts a persuasive picture when baring his insecure and rueful side.

Other precious albeit peripheral characters like Tarla's warm neighbour (Bharti Achrekar) and resourceful raddiwala (Amarjeet Singh) lend Tarla's feel-good, middle-class world a comforting, community feeling.

Much like her food.

Tarla streams on ZEE5.