Motion Picture Reviews and Insights- Vaishali Adwant

Tarla is a Biopic loosely based on the real story of celebrated chef Tarla Dalal. We are used to watching biopics with earth-shattering challenges, business astuteness, and a lot of melodrama. Tarla has none of these elements to convince you that it’s a well-researched biopic, nevertheless a sweet and an enjoyable narrative.

Set in the backdrop of 70’s era, Tarla(Huma Qureshi) has apt visuals that set the slow-paced tone of the era. It shows how Tarla, coming from a middle-class family married with children is on her quest to find her true calling, ‘Kuch’. Tarla has been a good cook but realizes only a few years later that it is her true calling. She starts cookery classes to teach to-be-married women how to cook and succeeds at making a name which inspires her to write a cookbook.

Tarla does not face mammoth challenges like most of the entrepreneurs today do. Therefore, it is unfair to compare two eras and how Tarla reached her goal without digital expertise or business acumen. Nalin Dalal(Sharib Hashmi) is a passive-aggressive yet supportive husband who does not show his displeasure openly and supports her ambitions halfheartedly while sacrificing his job opportunities. This makes Tarla come across as a selfish woman in the movie, probably giving the audience a false impression of who she really was.

Tarla is more of a feel-good movie that you can enjoy watching at a pace than find true inspiration. There are no mouth-watering recipes but numerous incidents where Tarla is about to give up on her dreams but finds a reason to stick through. Tarla sees through her true potential when she discovers that one of the recipes from her cookbook is being used in a 5 star hotel. She soon decides to find an unusual way to distribute her cookbook which leads to success and she decides to follow through.

The movie aptly depicts middle-class values and how difficult it is to convince family members of the path you choose. Tarla’s mother is apprehensive of Tarla avoiding family responsibilities to do a TV show which leaves her in a dilemma whether she should continue or quit. Tarla is not an inspirational film for a biopic but has good pointers that make you think. Huma Qureshi was convincing as Tarla with Gujju intonation. Though the movie comes with a lot of flaws, it is still enjoyable to watch.