An Experiment gone good.
There are already a very small number of viewers of such experimental kind of cinema. So it’s a responsibility for the directors to come up with nice and appreciable projects which are capable of bringing more viewers to this genre.
But director Anwar Rasheed's “Ustad Hotel” is entertaining and enlightening to impress. With its talented star cast and an interesting plot it succeeds to win over the viewers with its content.
The storyline revolves around a young man named Faizal (known as Feyzee), who studies in Switzerland as a chef against his rich father's wishes. As the relation between father and son deteriorates, Feyzee is forced to work as a cook in a restaurant at Kozhikode (Calicut) run by his grandfather Karim. A strong bond develops between Karim, an elderly Sufi Muslim, and his educated grandson who eventually decides to work permanently in the restaurant. The film also discusses issues of poverty, underprivilege and tensions between rich and poor in India. Food and its nuances becomes a central character in the film.
Moreover the most annoying part comes when the film ends abruptly. Climax with many possibilities is acceptable but when the movie ends suddenly without any justification then its looks like deliberately done to give it an offbeat perspective.
Performances wise Thilakan and Dulquar Salman are fine as always. Swidheeq and Nithya Menon excel. The rest are all there but nothing extraordinary to showcase. Mamukkoya looks ravishing, Kunchan, Jayaprakash and, Maniyanpillai Raju are ok.
One interesting observation. The movie has a subject very similar to Fatih Akin’s “Soul Kitchen”. Infact it’s a keralized version of the German movie .
Rating : 4 / 5
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