Salt n' Pepper

Much of the late 90s and the early 21st century was a terrible period for Malayalam cinema. Mammooty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi were trying to outdo each other in terms of the number of mediocre films they acted in. Shaji Kailas and his imitators had run Malayalam cinema into dust. This period was also marked by regressive portrayal of women in movies.

It was people like Ashiq Abu who helped revive Malayalam cinema. Salt n Pepper was like a breath of fresh air when it came out. Ashiq was probably the first filmmaker to give us a good look around Kerala's cities. He (or maybe it was the writers) also set this film in an interesting milieu. The male lead in Salt n Pepper works in an archaeological department. The female lead is a dubbing artist. The two of them bond over food in a case of mistaken identities. Baburaj was hilarious as the cook who provides moral support to the lonely and hard drinking hero. The film also features scenes where the female characters drink beer and have fun, a welcome change from the regressive nineties.

The writers Dileesh Nair and Syam Pushkaran packs it in with interesting, humorous and poignant scenes and references. So a lot of the credit goes to the writers as well.

As the name suggests, food is the basic theme of the movie, as we can understand from the opening credits itself, where it shows many of the most popular food joints and restaurants across Kerala. The male protagonist is an extreme food lover, as is clearly demonstrated with the help of some neat and clever humor. Lal, as always, performed a captivating role as Kalidasan. Asif Ali's performance as Manu (nephew of Kalidasan) is pretty average, as expected. So is Mythili's (as Meenakshi). Shweta Menon plays the female protagonist opposite Lal, and does a good job as Maya (Mythili's room-mate). A notable appearance is that of Baburaj (as Kalidasan's cook) in an out-of-norms character which comes as a pleasant and enjoyable surprise.

The plot starts off with Kalidasan and Maya coincidentally talking over a wrong phone call, that too involving 'dosa' which is a traditional South Indian food. Then everything goes as expected till they decide to meet, and then involves Manu and Meenakshi. Vijayaraghavan comes into the movie with a sub-plot which again is pretty ordinary and predictable. Towards the end, you begin to feel whether the story-writer was just trying to somehow find a climax and get over with it.

Overall, it goes down as an entertainment movie with a difference, and the director Ashiq Abu has to be praised for boldly trying out a different approach to story-telling in Malayalam cinema. My Rating: 7/10.

The movie has a strong emotional approach towards an old old-sung story.The movie starts with the say "Man live to eat".Every situation in the film was carefully done with beautiful cinematography.Every actor make us laugh even if they are not cracking jokes.The caption "A story of Dosa making" is a metaphor for a simple story.

The trio Babu Raj, Lal,and Aasif Ali have a good combination throughout the film.Swetha Menon and Mythili again performed a good show.Mythili proved to be promising actress for Mollywood.The beginning even say a lot about kerala food tradition and it would make audience hungry.Salt and pepper make omelet tastier.Likewise Aasiq abu and Baburaj duo together make this movie nourishing.

Its been a while, or rather put it this way, never enjoyed a movie so regaling in a long time. A light-hearted story with some beautiful moments, non fictitious dialogs, nice songs and an ensemble cast so congruent with portraying the ones we see in our daily lives. The movie s never a simulation, which is probably the best thing about it. A story which is thematically simple - Living to eat rather than eating to live, the long lost love interest, the psychological block and then being in love - and is depicted many a time in malayalam movies still imprints on us a fresh flavour, courtesy the crafty direction and some fabulous portrayals. Lal, Asifali, Swetha menon are all nothing less than awesome. Awing was Baburaj,would be easily his most remembered character. No characters wasted but kalpana, Vijayaraghavan impressive in his short appearance. The final performance by The Avial Band glued well, to my surprise. Crispier editing would have made the movie a class apart. Cinematography and background score needs special mention. Putting together, Salt'n'Pepper is one of those better romantic comedies, if not the best, you would get to see in malayalam. Foodies or non-foodies!! You'll definitely relish the feast.

I chanced upon Salt n Pepper on Primevideo, in orig. Malayalam w/Eng. subs.

This is what one would call a 'pleasing film' not quite a rom-com but definitely a romance with a simple plot, good acting, and more than just a few good doses of humour. The dialogues are also good.

I especially liked the character Mooppan, the elderly adivasi gentleman. Not sure what he added to the film but he was cute and interesting. Turns out that the actor is actually a tribal Kelu Moopan "leader of the Kurichyar community in Mananthavady region of Wayanad district, Kerala" as per another site.

Salt N Pepper is a very watchable film that holds the interest. Especially good if you are fed up of violent thrillers and stupid slapstick and just want something pleasant to enjoy before bedtime.