After a cooking mishap at the start of the story, Annapoorani experiences flashbacks that provide us with a thorough look at her life’s journey thus far.
Review of the film ‘Annapoorani‘
In this film, the father-child bond is a popular subject for filmmakers to examine because it is a giving relationship that never goes away. There are a lot of father-son movies out there, but not many that explore the father-daughter relationship. Even if this is investigated, it is essentially reduced to a romantic tug-of-war between them. The relationship isn’t really important to debutante director Nilesh Krishnaa’s Annapoorani. He is more likely to discuss the daughter’s goals and how they contrast with the father’s conservatism. From the moment we first encounter a young, wide-eyed Annapoorani, she and her father Rangarajan (Achyuth Kumar) share a beautiful bond.
She gives him a reverent and loving glance at the same time. She saw him as the man who turned down a well-paying position to stay in Srirangam and work as the head cook at the renowned Ranganathan temple. This dad can cook like a dream, and Annapoorani grows up with this dream brewing within her. Her goal is to become the nation’s top chef. One day, though, her liberal pragmatism clashes with her father’s traditional conservatism. A committed vegetarian’s sincere voyage into the meat industry and her survival in the competitive culinary arts sector ultimately turn out to be a heated tangle with regrettably scorching spillovers.
After a cooking mishap at the start of the story, Annapoorani experiences flashbacks that provide us with a thorough look at her life’s journey thus far. Possessing “enhanced taste buds that even want better flavor in breast milk,” she feels destined for culinary school after completing her undergraduate degree.
Rangarajan fiercely refutes her dreams because he believes that the temple chef’s daughter cannot attend culinary school if she is in any way around meat products. After this, the movie descends rapidly, layering hurried and haphazard narratives on top of one another until we eventually arrive at the intermission, when the movie really picks up speed.
But eventually, the hurriedness and unpredictability also transfer to the second half, when an onslaught of storylines only further twists the story. The idea behind Annapoorani has a lot of potential. When it comes to the conflict between meat eaters and vegetarians, the movie doesn’t mince words. Through the persona of Annapoorani’s companion, Farhan (Jai), it only states the obvious. However, because we never really get Rangarajan’s motivation for giving up her vegetarian lifestyle, the writing makes it easier for us to sympathize with her point of view than Annapoorani’s predicament.
Naturally, she has the right to choose what she eats, and the scene is set up to be such a turning point in her life, but it just fades away on screen. Annapoorani is likewise weighed down by its excessive comforts.
Nilesh also adds a nearly successful empowerment element, with the amazing Nayanthara at the center of it all. Although it functions well overall, it is forced into the last act and isn’t given the chance to grow naturally. Although the underrepresentation of women in the culinary sector is a valid point, isn’t it a bit too late in the movie? However, Nilesh and Jai deserve a lot of credit for creating the Farhan character, who is essentially the masculine embodiment of all the ladies we have seen in our male-driven star vehicles.
He enters to offer a few words of encouragement. He makes a few song appearances. A few of his pals are less significant than he is. Even though he is a culinary student, all we ever see of him is him hanging around with Annapoorani. He vanishes for most of the playthrough and reappears at opportune moments. I would be shocked if this wasn’t meant to be a meta-commentary because it all seemed so meta.
It is unfortunate that Annapoorani lacks those enticing shots that make us want to eat for a movie about food. Thaman’s songs and background soundtrack are very forceful and shout “empowerment” with a little too much fervor. The main issue with Annapoorani is that brilliant ideas aren’t carried through to the end. Does a chef need to consume meat in order to be a successful cook? Should one’s dreams be impeded by venerable customs? Is it OK to have self-serving ambitions? Is there a single route to satisfaction for passion? All of these questions are answered by Annapoorani, yet to use a phrase from the movie, it ultimately leaves us saying, “Nalla irukku. nevertheless, semmaya illa.
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