THE GREAT INDIAN KITCHEN (2021)

Critic - No. 192

Director: Jeo Baby

Produced by: Mankind Cinemas, Symmetry Cinemas, Cinema Cooks

Casts: Nimisha Sajayan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, T Suresh Babu

Language: Malayalam

Music: Sooraj S Kurup, Matthews Pulickan

Genre: Drama

 

SYNOPSIS: 

After marriage, a woman (Nimisha) struggles to be the submissive wife that her husband (Suraj) and his family expect her to be. The story follows her journey, as she changes herself and, even more so, changes the household.

 

REVIEW:

‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, directed by Jeo Baby swoops its way into the league of my favourite 10 Malayalam films with its genuine, realistic writing and meticulous direction. The subject matter about patriarchal society is old as a hill but Jeo’s detailed visual storytelling immerses us into the world of...oh wait, we don’t know the name of the lead character here. Often called out as ‘molae’, a generic Malayalam term of endearment for girls. We have seen nameless protagonists in Kurosawa and Clint Eastwood films but this is not a Samurai or Western film. It’s about a common young lady in India who is married into and trapped in a backward thinking household, that everyday women slave you see in India. Without name, it just signifies that this can be any ‘great Indian kitchen’ story. 

There is a beautiful prelude of this woman at her dance class, and you’ll remember the stretch being intercut with shots of food being prepared. That remains a stylistic motif throughout. Even though this woman is from a “Gulf family” was probably not inducted all that much into “kitchen duties” — but now, in her new home, she has no other choice but to succumb to it. 

The exhaustion of the character slowly grows in us. From the time she steps out of bed, till her bedtime, her duty list doesn’t stop. She has to turn out meticulously cooked (the rice is insisted to be made in the pressure cooker, only on the fire; the leftovers of lunch cannot be reused) meals. She has to clean the messy table, collect the dishes, wash the dishes, wipe the stairs, throw out the stinking garbage into a stinkier dugout in the backyard, wash the clothes by hand (father in law feels the machine will weaken the fibre), hang them out, fold them away when dry, make tea for entitled visitors (which is critisized by a male visitor), and lie back for the obligatory marital sex. And then start all over again, the cooking, cleaning, washing, till her ‘etta’ (salutation for husband) demands lights out. I am tired even writing this! In between these, director Jeo inserts a juxtaposition in the kitchen through a leaking pipe (even that the husband is too ‘king’ like to arrange for a plumber) that is waiting to explode, parallelly symbolising the wife’s piling emotions.

Yes, even in 2021, like it or not, this concept exists in many parts of India and echoes partially in Indian households worldwide. The constant pressure of a woman who is new to this (probably her mother has handled it in her own house), ripping away her ‘me time’ when men are free to read the news, touch in with technology, do yoga and even step out of the house to interact with people. In another word, this mentality and social structure is hidden slavery, a limbo that urgently needs to be addressed. Director Jeo keeps the story simple and the characters more complex which I really admired. Look for the interesting debate on ‘table manners’ by husband and wife which stamps the male ego right at your face.

The unhurried pace and long shots seamlessly build the intensity without any need for melodrama (no-nonsense of dramatic physical abuse inserted for sympathy) or lengthy dialogues. Jeo has let the visuals speak for themselves with minimal dialogues. Cinematographer Sabu K Thomas, who aids Jeo in that visual grammar, has captured the repetitive actions and chores in interesting, innovative angles, to keep us glued to the emotions of the lead. Besides the top and close shots of delicious food, he makes us sense the claustrophobic filthy area with dark wide angles. The gloominess of the character is felt through the dirty walls and wet tiles. The camera also moves as an observer sometimes to highlight the hustle and bustle of her daily chores as well. 

Nimisha deserves a standing ovation for carrying the roles with such conviction and dedication. Her small nuances that express the growing frustration of the character is commendable. Suraj and Suresh Babu who play the husband and father-in-law fit in the role as well as the chauvinistic duo. That said,  the subplot involving a feministic Facebook video felt quite rushed while I wished our ‘etta’ had had at least a redeeming quality or two. Till the end, he remains fairly one-dimensional, or...was it Jeo’s take that these kinds of hardliners never change? Even I felt that these chauvinistic creatures have dived too deep in their male ego (ingrained through generations) to even understand the concept of gender equality.

VERDICT:

‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ is a hard-hitting slap to the Indian patriarchal households that enslave women in the kitchen, passing down their concept of ‘glorified’ gender discrimination.

 

 

CELLULOID METER- 4.5/5: