Cooking With Stella at TIFF stars Don McKellar
Lisa Ray and Seema Biswas in Director Dilip Mehta's First Feature
Sep 17, 2009
Director Dilip Mehta's Cooking with Stella is a colourful comedy of manners - an enjoyable, if unremarkable film. Set in New Delhi, the story follows fresh-off-the plane diplomats Don McKellar and Lisa Ray as Michael and Maya - he an off-duty chef and she a high-level employee at the Canadian High Commission. While Maya is at the office, Michael stays home to take care of the couple's young child - to the chagrin of endentured cook, Stella - played straight as an arrow, often to hilarious effect by Seema Biswas.
Cooking with Stella is beautiful to watch, as the camera roves through New Delhi's markets and colourful religious festivals. But the story is a touch too loose - a too-thin broth - to get viewers very excited.
The masterful Seema Biswas is a joy as Stella -- an wizened servant accustomed to running the house in more ways than one. Turns out she has a tidy little "shop" in the house's backrooms, selling plundered Canadian beer, boxes of Tide and other sundry North American goodies for a tidy profit. "Like Robin Hood," she tells herself.
Cooking with Stella at its Finest in the Kitchen
Happily - for them and for viewers - Stella and Michael's interests meet in the kitchen and the film's cooking scenes are its easiest and strongest moments. Wincing all the way at Michael's white guy enthusiasm, Stella slowly unravels the complexities of Indian cusine. Together they make shrimp curries, crispy masala dosa and Michael goes out on a limb and presents Stella with his own mango salad recipe.
Their frienship grows, as does Michael's understanding of local culture. McKellar's easy charm makes him a natural for the role of the smart, slacker-chef. Typically, he insists on treating his servants as friends - offering to share a beer, imploring them to call him by his first name. Stella plainly tells him that it doesn't ingratiate him with his staff.
"It works for you, but it is confusing for us. We don't know who we are."
Screenwriter Deepa Mehta Compares Stella to Upstairs Downstairs
Screenplay co-writer Deepa Mehta says it was important to weave the cultural subtext into the story in a light-hearted way.
"We wanted to have fun with the intricate situations shown in the film and to try and write a kind of Upstairs, Downstairs satirical comedy about cross-cultural clases and misunderstandings. With amusing petty crimes escalating into a much more daring scam."
Stella's money-making schemes escalate, and disaster ensues -- but friendships endure and as Deepa Mehta' puts it: "Lessons are learned. Real lessons. By all."
It's a decent first feature by Mehta if a little flat at times and a natural for foodies - who will wish for more cooking scenes.
- Cooking with Stella
- Directed by Dilip Mehta
- Screenplay by Deepa Mehta and Dilip Mehta
- Produced by David Hamilton
- Starring Don McKellar, Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas
- Runtime: 103 minutes
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