The Great Indian Kitchen review: Kannan’s remake of a Malayalam hit film is bereft of soul

Director Kannan’s The Great Indian Kitchen is an official remake of Jio Baby’s Malayalam film by the same name.

While the original received critical acclaim for dealing with the subject of gendered work, Kannan seems to have ended up making a film that is bereft of soul and far less impressive than the original.

The problem with remakes is that audiences are invariably bound to compare them with the original. So, those looking to remake a popular movie have the unenviable task of making sure that their film is as good as the original, if not better.

In addition to this, they also will have to make minor modifications to the script to ensure that it suits the taste of the new audience for whom it is being made.

Sadly, Kannan seems to have missed the bus on both counts. The remake is nowhere close to being as good as the original.

In addition, certain modifications that the director has made in the hope that it will endear his film to the Tamil audiences do the opposite.

The plot

The story of The Great Indian Kitchen revolves around Aishwarya Rajesh, a classical dancer who gets married to Rahul Ravindran. He is a school teacher who lives with his parents.

The bride walks into her new home with dreams of leading a happy life with her husband. But she is in for a rude shock when she realises that she has to slog from morning till night for the men of the house, day in and day out.

Every morning, she has to clean, cook, wash utensils, wash clothes, sweep, mop and dust the huge house. She repeats this exercise thrice every day, without rest or a break.

The only time she isn’t allowed to do anything is when she gets her period. Sadly, even then, she is treated like an untouchable.

While she slogs it out in the dark, gloomy kitchen, the men of the house don’t do any household chores and make merry.

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In addition to this, they prevent her from pursuing her career as a dance teacher, keeping her in the confines of the kitchen, citing tradition and family values.

Eventually, things reach a breaking point.

The film, which is a feminist’s take on the role of housewives in families within a patriarchal system, looks to portray the men as nothing less than monsters looking to use women for their own selfish needs, without offering anything in return to the women or their families.

All the significant male characters in the film are made to appear mean and inconsiderate.

Please do watch only in theatres and show ur love and support ❤️❤️❤️ #TheGreatIndianKitchen #RunbabyRun 🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/qDy3DZqSlF

— aishwarya rajesh (@aishu_dil) February 3, 2023

The father-in-law

For an instance, look at how the character of the father-in-law (played by Poster Nandhakumar) is showcased. He is shown to be mean, cruel and with no sense of cleanliness whatsoever.

He tells his daughter-in-law (Aishwarya), who is already struggling with the huge workload, not to cook in a cooker but to use an earthen stove with wood.

Also, he instructs her to wash the clothes without using the washing machine which is already there in the house.

Well, wonder how many fathers-in-law in this day and age would instruct their daughters-in-law to cook on an earthen stove or wash their clothes with their bare hands instead of using a washing machine?

And the more interesting question would be how many women would even entertain such demands. Anyway, the director wants us to believe that this happens everywhere.

It doesn’t end there. The father-in-law’s character is shown as someone who does not so much as pick his toothbrush to brush his teeth! The women of the house have to bring it to him, with paste on it!

If the father-in-law’s character is not horrible enough for you, the film has a husband’s character that is even more monstrous in nature.

A sneak peek from the #TheGreatIndianKitchen (Tamizh). Out today in theatres. https://t.co/741WCAV7PG

— Rahul Ravindran (@23_rahulr) February 3, 2023

The husband

The husband is a schoolteacher. In one sequence, we see him teaching sociology to a class full of fifth-standard students. Gone are the days when kids were taught social science when they were in school.

What he is shown teaching as sociology is even more interesting. He says that the father or the man is the head of the family. No, we don’t see him explaining the patriarchal or matriarchal systems. He goes on to talk about the family system and how only men are heads of families!

When girls ask him why a woman can’t be considered the head of the family, instead of explaining the matriarchal system, he offers an absurd and blunt reply that looks to showcase him as being misogynistic, stoic and stupid.

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At home, he is as mean and inconsiderate as his father. Also, he is equally bad when it comes to table manners.

Interestingly though, there is a sequence that shows him having refined manners when he eats at a restaurant along with his wife.

But the more important point is that he uses his wife for his sexual pleasure, unmindful of how she feels. This point, for a change, is not exaggerated and comes across as a genuine issue.

Hard-hitting #TheGreatIndianKitchen hits screens TODAY! ❤️‍🔥

Here’s wishing the amazing team blockbuster success!💥

➡️ https://t.co/QSIemWDzNM@RDCMediaPvtLtd @aishu_dil @23_rahulr @balasubramaniem @Dir_kannanR @jerrysvincent @leojohnpaultw pic.twitter.com/2uP0j8OWLs

— Sony Music South (@SonyMusicSouth) February 3, 2023

Impressive performances

The film also takes potshots at the religious practices people undertaking a trip to Sabarimala are expected to follow.

While the story has characters that have evolved to drive home the point that men are monsters, women are victims and that marriage is an institution through which men exploit women, it has some fine performances coming in from its actors.

Aishwarya Rajesh, who plays the daughter-in-law, does a mighty fine job of portraying the pain of a woman who has no respite from the monotonous and strenuous lifestyle that women lead.

She does justice to her part. One, invariably, can relate to her character and empathise with it.

Poster Nandhakumar, who plays the father-in-law, delivers an equally impressive performance.

The film is of relatively short duration but comes across as long because of the repetitive sequences that are necessary to make the point the filmmaker is looking to convey.

In all, Kannan’s The Great Indian Kitchen comes across as a film that might not be everybody’s cup of tea.

(Views expressed are personal.)