Day 7: Nina’s Heavenly Delights (film)
Nina’s Heavenly Delights is a bit like Bend It Like Beckham (I mean this as a compliment, since Bend It Like Beckham is a fantastic film) but it’s set in Glasgow, there is curry instead of football and in this case the female-bonding develops into a lesbian romance. This is the first feature film by the Indian British Director Pratibha Parmar, who is known for her writing and documentaries about issues of diversity.
The plotline is that Nina returns to the family restaurant in Glasgow after her father’s death and decides to solve their financial problems by winning a curry competition. The story traces Nina’s difficult relationship with her family, the awkwardness between herself and Sanjay (whom Nina was supposed to marry several years ago) and the developing romance between Nina and her childhood friend & co-chef Lisa. Although the film is probably best known as a lesbian romance, it has a wonderful cast of supporting characters including Nina's extended family, her competitors in the Best of the West Curry Competition and the fabulously flamboyant Bobbi.
The ending is a little predictable, but the film is fun and light-hearted with a clear Bollywood influence. One of my favourite things about this movie was the food, which looks incredible in all the scenes and prompted the friend I watched the film with to describe it as ‘cooking porn’! For added inspiration there is a recipe for one of Nina’s signature curry dishes, Chicken Shakuti, on the film’s website.
The plotline is that Nina returns to the family restaurant in Glasgow after her father’s death and decides to solve their financial problems by winning a curry competition. The story traces Nina’s difficult relationship with her family, the awkwardness between herself and Sanjay (whom Nina was supposed to marry several years ago) and the developing romance between Nina and her childhood friend & co-chef Lisa. Although the film is probably best known as a lesbian romance, it has a wonderful cast of supporting characters including Nina's extended family, her competitors in the Best of the West Curry Competition and the fabulously flamboyant Bobbi.
The ending is a little predictable, but the film is fun and light-hearted with a clear Bollywood influence. One of my favourite things about this movie was the food, which looks incredible in all the scenes and prompted the friend I watched the film with to describe it as ‘cooking porn’! For added inspiration there is a recipe for one of Nina’s signature curry dishes, Chicken Shakuti, on the film’s website.