When I heard that a movie inspired by Tarla Dalal’s life was greenlit, it unlocked a hidden memory of watching a woman on TV reciting recipes like it was second nature; a woman who cooked, tasted, and innovated her way into hundreds of households.
In Piyush Gupta’s Tarla, the titular role is essayed by Huma Qureshi with Sharib Hashmi playing her husband Nalin Dalal. Tarla is the story of a young girl who is driven by the desire to “do something” and this is something she reiterates to everyone – her friends, her family, and even her suitor.
Nalin promises that he won’t let their marriage hinder her dreams and with this mandate, they set out on their journey as a couple. But the years that follow are going to be transformative for Tarla in more ways than one.
When she finds her husband eating a non-vegetarian dish, she sets out to figure out a way to fit his tastes to her vegetarian cooking and sensibilities, and vice versa. Soon, this leads to her becoming a cooking tutor which opens up similar possibilities for her.
After this, the film delves into the hurdles she faced as a woman who was not only trying to be an entrepreneur in the 1970s but also trying to challenge the idea that cooking was a ‘woman’s job’. With equal division of labour still being a far-fetched possibility in several households, the way the film explores gender dynamics is worthy of note.
While Tarla is criticised for stepping out of her house, her husband is ridiculed for not matching the criteria patriarchy imposes on men. Even though an incident occurs when Nalin is at home, the male doctor chides Tarla for being ‘irresponsible’. The disdain isn’t obvious or pointed but it is implied, as microaggressions often are.
Huma Qureshi embodies the innocence and rustic charm of a woman on a mission skillfully; when she eagerly looks on as someone tries a new recipe, her trepidation is evident. As a woman torn between her dreams and the roles society has foisted upon her, Qureshi captures every emotion expected of her.
The main figure besides Tarla is Nalin, her oft-supportive husband who plays a crucial role in her perfecting recipes. Hashmi is undeniably a skilled actor and his act complements Qureshi’s well. They have the easygoing chemistry of a couple that has been married for over a decade.
It’s important to remember that Tarla isn’t a documentary and the well-renowned chef doesn’t have an autobiography I am aware of so it’s tough to check the veracity of everything shown in the film but at least one can find solace in the lack of heightened melodrama. Tarla faces numerous hurdles in the way but she also finds voices of support and each side gets their due visibility.
The film’s strongest asset is its heart; it’s feel-good cinema. Arguably, as the minutes tick by, the film seems to have run well over the ideal runtime for its story. If you’re someone who knows of Tarla Dalal (and I believe many do), some parts that the film sets up as a discovery might seem banal. Further, a lot of Tarla’s problems are faced in society’s impulse to dismiss women but this understanding feels a little superficial in places.
The music by Suhit Abhyankar, Nilotpal Bora, Rohan Vinayak is warm and soulful, especially ‘Yahi Toh Hai Zindagi’ which doesn’t exactly feel revolutionary but it’s melodic enough to trump that.
Speaking of warm and soulful, I appreciate that the way the food and cooking sequences are shot in Tarla don’t come across looking artificial or overtly stylised. For a chef who was known to bring multi-cuisine dining to the home kitchen, this attention to keeping visuals restrained is commendable.
I wonder if my parents were ever influenced by Tarla Dalal and if that influence every crept into my cooking. And I believe that’s the result of the way the film presents Dalal, like an omnipresent figure in the Indian household.
Maybe then it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that the film achieved some of what it set out to do; it will perhaps only strengthen the legacy of a figure like hers.
But there is a nagging feeling that something is missing.
Would it have helped to see a deeper look into Tarla’s connection to food as an individual? Would an increased focus on her insistence to have a male co-star on her show have been more insightful? These questions swim around in my mind as the aroma of tonight’s dinner wafts through my door.
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