Me, Cottage and GulabJam movie

Till now only one movie related to food , has touched my heart as well as mind.
It’s “Julie and Julia” having French cuisine captured brilliantly with equally good direction in presenting the journey of the two main protagonists. The food is shown as an important factor which changes the course of life of the two characters who never meet. I personally identified myself in these characters partially and sort of give credit to the movie for rekindling the food passion in me. But the part which I couldn’t relate to in the movie, was the food, primarily because at that time I was predominantly a vegetarian and secondly because I had never heard about most of the French dishes shown in the movie, seen them being cooked or even eaten them. I used to yearn for a movie which showcased local Maharashtrian vegetarian cuisine and explored it’s beauty through brilliant characters and their bond for food. This weekend my yearning was over all thanks to Sachin Kundalkar and his team of “GulabJam”.

Every person has a memory of soul food that takes them back to their most cherished moments with loved ones. My soul food has and always will be Dahi Bhaat (Curd Rice) made by my father , whether it’s the way he used to mix it, the ingredients or the love, I don’t know, but it has the power to turn me into a toddler eating it from my father’s hands while being half asleep at dinner table. I can relish in a Michelin Star restaurant but never feel as satisfied as I do when I recall the moments I have Dahi Bhaat.

GulabJam essentially captures the soul food concept brilliantly. After much musing over why the director chose “GulabJam” a non-Maharashtrian origin dish as the title and main dish to trigger certain important events, I realized that it’s the memory along with the dish which is important when it comes to soul food.

As kids , I remember my mother making us eat all sorts of pohe viz. Kanda, dahi, dadape,dudh,kolache, etc. I used to wonder how many types more are there as each week a new one used to be present. My father had a concept of having different types of dry chutneys such that if we have one version for a week it should take six months to have it repeated. He used to make a dish from churmure (puffed rice), some raw oil, peanuts , red chilly powder, and salt, it was heavenly to have a bite of it before running off to play. It was the best post lunch snack I ever had and probably healthiest too.

Dadape pohe , tikhat mithacha sanja or upit, sheera, ratalyacha Khiss, thalipeeth, phodanichi bhakri, dashami, tandalachi ukadpindi, sabudana khichadi, patole, ghaavan, amboli with homemade tup have been few breakfast favorites.
Ukadiche modak with different types of saran, Olya naralachi Karanji , haliv and besan ladu, puranpoli, kelyacha halwa were always made for desserts.
Chinchagul amti, waran, kadhi , chakolya with warm rice are the ultimate comfort food , not to forget the umpteen versions of different vegetable based pithala (imagine one with ghosavala), have been the dishes of day when my father cooked to give Maa a break and us a stomach breakdown 
Diwali Pharal was a lengthy affair and Maa made it memorable each year with a specific curated menu for the first day.
Each festival was celebrated with a special menu and anyone who visited us on the day always was given the special dish of the day no matter when they came. Maa is very particular to this day about it and so am I now.
Winters were always about Undhiyu, Mataar Karanji, Tilgul, GulPoli, Mataar Usal, Cakes and again different versions of vegetable bhajis by my father.

GulabJam slowly stirred up the food memories of my childhood. After watching the movie I realized not just Radha Agarkar, even I had forgotten about these memories in the hustle bustle of working life and like Aditya Naik even I felt the need to go beyond a menu dominated by Potato and Paneer when it comes to Vegetarian food or the typical Maharashtrian food spotted in hotels around me.

Coming back to movie, the food showcased is primarily vegetarian except for the Surmai scene and covers most of the dishes in Maharashtra though I did miss Sudharas, ukadpindi, kelyacha halwa, patole, amboli , Bharli Vangi, and so many things that I would have wanted to watch, but then it wasn’t a documentary or cooking series on Maharashtrian food, it was the story of Aditya Naik, Radha Agarkar and their life . Hats off to Sayali Rajadhyaksha and Shweta Bapat for the well curated scene wise menu (couldn’t have been more perfect) along with lip-smacking cooking scenes (the top views especially). Not to forget Usha Jagtap and Lata Lal for preparing the delicious food, I swear I wanted to lift and eat the GulabJam and suralichiwadi the instant it was shown on screen.

Any person fond of cooking will identify that each dish cooked has a part of them and their love in it and if focus goes off then the dish takes a toll. The sentence that Radha Agarkar says to Aditya Naik is something I believe in too, ” Baajaarat jaun bhaaji analyapasun bhandi ghaseparyanta sagla kela tar Swayapak ala asa mhanayacha”). Dialogues like these capture the true passion of a chef who knows what all is required to cook the perfect dish.

The movie has its own share of twists and turns which make you laugh and cry along with the main protagonists. Loved the way the movie ended with the relationship between main protagonists remaining undefined, are they Guru Shishya, business partners or friends , I didn’t care , for me they were two people who in each other’s company matured just like the Paakat Muralele GulabJam. Another superb metaphorical use of GulabJam by the director.
I liked the concept of Dial a Chef , it’s similar to my new profession as a HomeChef and sort of struck a cord with my heart and mind. Scenes like the old man sitting reading the time travel related novel with the next shot inside Radha Agarkar’s house showing time to be stuck in 1999 show how well a point can be conveyed through minimalist gestures.

Brilliant performance by Sonali Kulkarni (loved the added bass to the voice, makes Radha Agarkar seem believable) and Siddharth Chandekar as the wanna be Chef Aditya Naik. The small parts by the help (Don’t recall Name), fiancee (Madhura Deshpande), Renuka Shahane as sister and Chinmay Udgikar add charm.
The music is easy on ears and keeps up with the pace of the movie.

All in all I would say it’s worth watching the movie while pondering over your memories of people and food associated with them.
Mala GulabJam Jaam avadala.

After any food consumption is completed my mother has taught me to do a namaskar and say “Annadaata Sukhi Bhava”. I said just this after the last credits of the movie rolled off and I finally got up satisfied watching a soulful delicious movie.

After watching the movie I felt like featuring below a part of the Apps Cooking Cottage menu ani barach kahi je hotel madhe normally milat nahi.

Suralichiwadi , kacchya phansachi bhaaji, Olya Kajuchi Usal, Valacha Birda, Bharli Karli, Ghosavalyachi Bhaji, kacchya kelyache pattice, Mataar Karanji, Jwarichi Bhakri, Pithala, Metkut Bhaat, Kelyacha halwa , bhala motha pakatala Chirota sukamewa perlela

Kay mahanatay, yetay jevayala?? Nakki yaa, taat ghetech vadhayala …..
Mhana “Vadani Kawala Gheta….