Cooking With Stella

Transplanting the upstairs-downstairs comedy to New Delhi, Dilip Mehta has crafted a delightful feature debut scripted in collaboration with his acclaimed sister Deepa (Water, Heaven on Earth). Featuring charming turns from Don McKellar (Where the Truth Lies, Blindness) and Lisa Ray (Water, Defendor) and a standout performance by Seema Biswas (Water), Cooking with Stella is great fun to watch as it offers a glimpse of how Canadians live in India’s capital.

As head housekeeper at a diplomatic residence in New Delhi, Stella (Biswas) serves up delectable dishes to a succession of Ottawa civil servants. But while she sets a divine table, some of her other activities are less above board – she skims inflated bills to pad her modest salary and raids her employers' pantry for her own "duty free" business. Each night, she impishly prays to the Virgin Mary to bless her crooked schemes.

The arrival of Maya (Ray) and Michael (McKellar) initially disrupts Stella’s routine. To her surprise, the wife is the diplomat while the husband stays home to look after their baby daughter. Even more shocking, he has designs on her kitchen! When Michael, a trained chef, discovers Stella’s culinary talents, he asks her to be his guru and teach him the secrets of authentic Indian cooking. She warily agrees to this breach in master-servant protocol, and as the two begin whipping up mouthwatering curries and dosas together, her trepidation eventually turns to pleasure.

Meanwhile, the beautiful and virtuous Tannu (Shriya Saran) joins the household to care for the baby. Can Stella make her an ally in domestic subterfuge, or will the honest young nanny topple the kitchen kingpin? Determined to protect her turf, Stella plots her slyest and most ambitious ruse yet.

Fans of Deepa Mehta’s Water might remember Biswas in a heart-wrenching dramatic role. She is every bit as good here, but utterly transformed – both commanding and coy, especially in her market and kitchen scenes with McKellar. A proud and complex Indian working in a Canadian enclave, her Stella redeems all deceptions with a radiant, irresistible smile.



CRITICAL NOTES

“A light, clever and very enjoyable comedy . . . Don McKellar and Lisa Ray are terrific as the newcomers, but it’s the Indian cast members who have the most fun in the Mehtas' fleet-footed satire.” – Jason Anderson, Eye Weekly
FILM INFORMATION

Director: Dilip Mehta
Cast: Don McKeller, Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas, Shriya Saran
Year: 2009
Runtime: 103 minutes
Country: Canada
Language: English, Hindi
Distributor: Mongrel Media


Ratings: ON NR / BC NR / AB NR / SK NR / MB NR / QC NR / Maritmes NR

SCREENING DATES AND TIMES 

Jan 11, 2010 
Circuit Centre: Bracebridge
Province: Ontario
Circuit Group Name: Spinning Reels
Venue:Norwood Theatre
Where else is this film screening in Film Circuit?

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