Bollywood and food share a strong bond. Here are the top 10 Bollywood movies with food & cooking as the main theme.
Food festivals in India are becoming like fashion shows. its lucrative and almost everybody is jumping on to the bandwagon. High disposable incomes and increase in outbound tourism has increased the demand for exquisite gastronomy experiences. Food festivals, food shows and expos, are becoming common in India.
So how can Bollywood stay away from food? Besides, Indians love to eat food, watch movies, and play cricket.
Saif Ali Khan will be seen in an gastronomical comedy drama ‘Chef’. For his role, Saif Ali Khan underwent a 10-day training program in a suburban five star hotel to hone his culinary skills.
Here are top ten Bollywood movies that had food (and cooking) as the core theme.
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The Lunch Box (2013)
This romantic films became popular all over the world. Its a love story between a soon-to-be retired accountant Saajan (Irrfan Khan) and a lonely house wife Ila (Nimrit Kaur); their interaction starts due to a rare wrong delivery of dabba by the very famous and perfect dabbawala of Mumbai. This movie portrays various (simple) Indian foods in aesthetic way.
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100 foot journey (2014)
Comedy film, starring Om Puri, where a French and Indian restaurant are set up opposite to each other, and the war that starts as a result.
There are several kitchen scenes and cooking techniques (including an omelette making scene). Its an international movie, but shows yummy Indian food. -
Cheeni Kum (2007)
Cheeni Kum means ‘less sugar’. The movie is about food, love and relationships. This 2007 comedy revolves around the 64 years old chef Budhhadev (Amitabh Bachchan) and his 34 years old beloved Nina (Tabu). The two meet in Budhhadev’s restaurant where they fight over a recipe of a particular dish (Zafrani Hyderabadi Pulao) and later, fall in love with each other.
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Daawat-E-Ishq (2014)
This romantic movie is a unconventional recipe of love, heartbreak and betrayal. This movie revolves around the romance between a sales girl Gulrez from Hyderabad (Parineeti Chopra) and her romance with chef Tariq (Aditya Roy Kapoor) from Lucknow, whose restaurant is famous for biryani and kebabs.
The movie has several scenes that show delectable food, shot as if it were an TV advertisement.
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Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana (2012)
This comedy movie is an out and out food movie where the protagonist Omi’s (Kunal Kapoor life depends on the revival of his grandfather’s dhaba which was once famous all over Punjab for his special “Chicken Khurana.”
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Kuku Mathur ki Jhand Ho Gayi (2014)
This comedy film revolves around Kuku Mathur (Siddharth Gupta) who loves to cook and aspires to be a cook. Despite the ups and downs in his life, he dreams of opening his own restaurant one day.
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Bawarchi (1972)
1972 comedy drama Bawarchi had Rajesh Khanna in the lead, who comes to Shanti Niwas as a cook, and spreads love and affection through his finger-licking food and over-powering simplicity. This is one of the most popular movies on this theme.
There are many more movies based on food, but these are the more notable ones.
As far as the title of Bollywood films is concerned, several movies have used titles that denote food. Here are some examples – Roti, Namkeen, Sandwich, Chocolate, Daal Me Kala, Cutting Chai, Cocktail, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Bhindi Baazaar Inc, Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai, Garam Masala, Khatta Meetha, Lunchbox, Aaloo Chaat, Mirch, Cheeni Kum.
Did we miss out on any Bollwood movie based on food? Please let us know here.
