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Director: Dilip Mehta
Cast: Don McKellar, Seema Biswas, Lisa Ray, Vansh Bhardwaj, Shriya Saran
Run Time: 103 minutes
Country: Canada
Year: 2009
Language: English, Hindu with English subtitles
Rating: G (Coarse language, violence)
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.
“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
Official Site: www.cookingwithstella.com
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