| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Helen Mirren | ... | ||
| Om Puri | ... | ||
| Manish Dayal | ... | ||
| Charlotte Le Bon | ... | ||
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Amit Shah | ... | |
| Farzana Dua Elahe | ... |
Mahira
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Dillon Mitra | ... | |
| Aria Pandya | ... | ||
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Michel Blanc | ... |
Mayor
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| Clément Sibony | ... |
Jean-Pierre
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Vincent Elbaz | ... |
Paul
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| Juhi Chawla | ... |
Mama
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Alban Aumard | ... |
Marcel
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| Shuna Lemoine | ... |
Mayor's Wife
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Antoine Blanquefort | ... |
Thomas
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The family of talented cook, Hassan Kadam, has a life filled with both culinary delights and profound loss. Drifting through Europe after fleeing political violence in India that killed the family restaurant business and their mother, the Kadams arrive in France. Once there, a chance auto accident and the kindness of a young woman, Marguerite, in the village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val inspires Papa Kadam to set up a Indian restaurant there. Unfortunately, this puts the Kadams in direct competition with the snobbish Madame Mallory's acclaimed haute cuisine establishment across the street where Marguerite also works as a sous-chef. The resulting rivalry eventually escalates in personal intensity until it goes too far. In response, there is a bridging of sides initiated by Hassan, Marguerite and Madame Mallory herself, both professional and personal, that encourages an understanding that will change both sides forever. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
This movie is filled with the joys and sorrows that accompany a full life. The acting is excellent. I could not fault a single actor. Even those delivering one liners seemed divested in the story. The photography and music are spectacular. A. R. Rahman showed even more depth and diversity than usual in his deep and varied score, and I kept wishing that I could freeze frame some of the amazing shots from the film so that I could take them home to use as inspiration for a painting. Plus, food has never looked more yummy! The story is touching and kept my interest from beginning to end. The messages contained within are subtle but definitely there, and they are positive and uplifting, which is a welcome change in today's challenging world. I fell in love with it all! Kudos! Kudos! Kudos to all!