User reviews

This film does not tick the 'right' buttons for white expectations of an Asian British film or a queer film and so people may be wrong footed. So there is no culture clash with parents who are living an 'Asian' read outdated culture with westernised children, no arranged marriage, no white person learning and being surprised by 'Asian' culture. No belly laughs ensuing from said conflicts. Instead we have a film about being true to yourself and learning to follow your passions for whatever - cooking, dance, love. I wait for the day that Black filmmakers can make work without having to conform to the prescribed script written for them to fulfil and they can just follow their passions.

"Nina's Heavenly Delights" is actually more interesting for the milieu in which it's set - a community of Indian ex-pats living and thriving in Scotland - than for the story it has to tell.

Nina (Shelley Conn) moved to London a few years back to escape an arranged marriage to a man she knew she could never learn to love. When her father dies unexpectedly, Nina returns to Glascow to help run the Indian restaurant he's owned and operated for decades. Her partner in the endeavor is Lisa (Laura Fraser), a close friend of the family whom Nina finds herself falling in love with, a fact that may not sit too well with her traditionalist family.

"Nina's Heavenly Delights" is definitely a mixed-bag when it comes to virtues and flaws. It's at its best in its quieter, more serious moments, as Nina engages in thoughtful discussions with her family members and her new-found love interest. But when it aims for a more lighthearted tone, the movie tends towards the coy and the cloying. The coming-out aspects of the tale are handled with delicacy and restraint, though the determinedly upbeat ending is a trifle on the implausible and unconvincing side, to put it mildly. The movie also suffers from a surfeit of soulful montage sequences and irrelevant musical interludes, a holdover from its Bollywood roots, no doubt (the movie may be British in origin but its Indian influence is undeniable). Moreover, the blending of gourmet cooking with magical realism feels too reminiscent of "Like Water for Chocolate" for total comfort.

However, the performances are so authentic and the whole enterprise so well-meaning and upbeat that it's hard not to have positive feelings about the movie in the long run.

If you ask me, the crux of the matter in _Nina's Heavenly Delights_ is revealed when Ms. Lady G's comments that the small battery-operated plastic Taj Mahal was a giant testament of grief. Parmar's film revolves around mourning and the comforts of beauty, love, aesthetics, family. And at the core of the film: is grief. Grief for her her father, yes, and also for the all that needs to be rewound: communication, home, deep friendship, solidarity, respect. If you've watched her documentaries over the years, you've found activist poetic diasporic politics running through, for her work is dutiful. But the films are always full of the other side of activism -- yearning -- and the other side of community -- grief. This film articulates those complicated emotions beautifully.

I find in this move to the feature film (which I applaud Kali films for with both hands clapping) a perfect topic: the loss of the father, the fall of queer idealism (we can't be gone for ever), and a return to the intricate and difficult subject of integrity and community integration. Less I sound too sophomoric to you, think again: Parmar and her crew are smart filmmakers: they've seen "Bend it Like Beckham" and "Fire" and many other important lesbian-type films ... and then delved into what drives us to love. No, Mia Hamm isn't in the limelight these days anyway, but more importantly didn't attempt the epic architectural overhaul of resovling the question of privacy and respect. Or, more poignantly, she and her writers did attempt the overhaul, but they did so in such subtle and lovely ways -- wouldn't you love for your future lover to discover something written behind the wallpaper? -- that the past becomes a sweet companion to the grief of the present. How is it possible to live without our memories? It is not. Patience is a virtue in this film, and I would love to hear your comments about mom and brother in light of such a topic as patience. I refuse to believe that honor is dead.

Shed Lacan -- _Nina's Heavenly Delights_ is not a typical, vacuous tale of lesbian and/ or progressive family who show their feathers when the big guy goes out. There seems, actually, to be a more important story going on about what shifts, and how we shift, through death, love and respect. To consider this a flat tale about "the law of the father" would be to belittle death and the dense process of mourning.

Quick last note: Three cheers for the best friend. Pratibha has finally given a body and character to her love of dance. Finally we can celebrate this with her.

Great to see this kind of film out on general release in British cinemas and now on DVD. It's about time! One thing I would say is that if I were a sixteen year old girl or so, this would be my favourite film for a good while because of the 'girl-on-girl action'. But don't get me wrong this is definitely about women and not girls!

Well done Pratibha Parmar for bringing this fun-loving film, full of diversity of many kinds, out for all to see. I look forward to seeing more.

This film marks a time where more and more expressions of true love, identity and passion should be allowed onto the big screen for the mainstream to see. There are plenty of interesting works out there, which are simply not being allowed into the cinema for people to see because there is deemed to be 'no audience'. So pay attention to what you chose to see! It's people that determine what's out there and what isn't.

This is a very forgettable film. It's so fluffy it very nearly became unbearable to me, and I have a very high tolerance for fluffy, trust me! There are two things it does well, however. The photography of the cooking, which is luscious, and the strong sense of chemistry between the two leading ladies.

Apart from that it felt limp and poorly constructed. The direction, I think, was the key problem.

The characters weren't fleshed out much at all, there was little sense of history, little sense of cohesion. It felt like it suffered from jumping narrative. There were a number of scenes where I wasn't quite sure what was going on, everything was so vague. What was Lisa's background? Why did she assume control of her father's interest in the restaurant? Was she not giving up a job of some kind to suddenly become Nina's kitchen hand? Or was it all done on the weekends? Why was the brother hiding his marriage, the explanation was odd...why didn't Lisa confide in Nina earlier about her situation with Kary? There was just so much that I felt we had to imply into events ourselves...

Ultimately, it's a fairy tale, as long as you go in expecting that, rather than expecting a realistic romance, then you should find this film moderately enjoyable.

My wife liked it, the two lesbians sitting behind us loved it, but I wouldn't say it was the best film I have ever seen.

PLOT I thought this was pretty simplistic. It is my own taste of course, but I didn't find myself being drawn into the films plot. I thought the storyline was good enough - girl returns home to make good, but it could have been expanded upon to add some lighter moments and perhaps a few twists here and there, but there were none. I found this pretty surprising as the film East is East had them but this did not.

ACTING Not bad. I cannot remember what the actors names were, but they were OK, not outstanding.

CINEMATOGRAPHY Pretty good overall. Use of lighting was good. In particular of note was when the two lesbian lovers first discovered themselves.

I thought long and hard about this submission. I don't like giving bad reviews, but then I don't like being sold something that does not work, and for me I was sold something that did not work.

I hate the way this film has been criticized in the press. By insisting, as the BBC does in their review of her film, that any treatment of Asian queerness needs to be portrayed as brutish and gritty, and that any story of an Asian family coping with a queer member must be shown through the lens of a "multicultural family and their troubled psyches", the press is putting the same straight-jacket on Asian filmmakers, as they do on black filmmakers, when they insist that the only stories that can come of out the black community are stories of gun violence and rat-infested squats.

The critics demand that queer Asians aren't allowed to do "Kissing Jessica Stein", that domain is reserved for whites only. Reading the reviews, you get the clear picture that the crime they want to charge Pratibha with, is not "making a bad film" but for "not telling an Asian queer story in the appropriate manner", as set out by films like East is East and My Beautiful Laundrette. That bloody sucks. More power to her for daring to challenge the stereotypes.

I saw this movie at The Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, though this funny, witty and entertaining movie about love and passions set against a cross-cultural, Glaswegian background could be featured at any film festival. I laughed at the witty, self-humorous dialogue, jiggled in my seat alongside the Bollywood songs, and drooled at the sight of all that delicious food. This is a rare gem which entertains the majority and identifies with the minority. You'll end up rushing to your nearest Curry House and checking out the chef! Here's one funny girl loves girl story which doesn't end in tears for a change. It can and does happen! Thank you Pratibha! Hope we don't have to wait another 7 years for the next one.

" I find some of the comments by ukxenafan1 quite insulting. I am Scottish and Asian and when I saw this film I identified with some of the characters on the screen. The actors' accents were authentic Scottish (some of the actors are actually Scottish) - not heavy Glasgow - and some of them talked in a way many Punjabi, Scottish people like myself talk. So for for this person to say that she/he didn't know what the accents were supposed to be is insulting to many Scottish- Asians who talk like the characters in the film. They should do their homework on the actors before they post such disrespectful comments. I went to see this film with friends in Glasgow and we all enjoyed it very much. We thought it was different to see a British-Asian film that didn't have the usual stereotypes that we have seen a thousand times before. Maybe this is why some people are having a problem with this film. There aren't many white people in the film and the Asian family is like any other family. We liked the magical elements of the film. Why should we expect all Brit/Asian films to be like the last one that was made. The girls in this film are not worshipping a white male god like Beckham. Thank god for that!

Knowing the struggles that a lot Asians go through with coming out and their acceptance by their families, this movie is a breeze of fresh air. It is OK for parents to have preconceived ideas and hopes for their kids but a little bit of open mindedness can make everyone so happy!

I watched this movie at the GLBT Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where this movie was selected to be screened on the closing night. Its a movie I can comfortably watch with my parents without making them uncomfortable also.

I also got an opportunity to hang out with Ms. Parmar, the director of the movie, who I interviewed for a magazine. A very down-to-earth, real person, who has kinda lived the story.

Kudos to Pratibha Parmar for giving me 2 hours of smiles and happiness through her movie!!

This film was at the International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival in Turin, and it was a real pleasure to see it and to meet the film-maker afterward. Parmar is a well known documentarist, and she brought in this feature film the richness of her past experience. It's a fresh, delicate comedy, with very sensuous details about food. But what I appreciated most it's the multicultural view, the idea of multi-layered identities (Indian-Scottish, Indian-Lesbian, etc...). It makes you feel it's possible to combine successfully the ingredients of your personality, like in a good recipe, instead of having them at war with each other. The actress who plays Nina's mother is wonderful. I'd like to see her more on the screen.

I just viewed this film at the MGLFF in Miami Beach, Florida. The audience very much loved the film. It was shown at the Regal Cinema on Lincoln Road. I like great cinema.I also liked the internation feel of the film. Great detail to light and framing make this film unique. I so enjoyed the beautiful truth that unfolded. We are fortunate to have such great filmmakers who celebrate relationships like this one. Pratibha(Director) takes the viewer on a journey that uses all of their senses. I loved the story. Here are some words to describe it. ENLIGHTENED! EVOLVED! BEAUTIFUL! I look forward to seeing more of this young directors work. I know that she will be doing more and more great projects....

Love this movie,just saw it at our Gay & Lesbian Film Festival here in Wellington.Love the story and it is a movie that should go to general release.Music good,Story awesome and I really don't think people can get offended by the story line.It is just a great love story. I would have like to got more of the recipes,they were wonderful. Managed to get the DVD from England so will be playing every night.Soundtrack is wonderful as well,so will be keeping the eye out for that. Thank you for finally getting the film to the screen.Only took the director 5 years to get someone to fund it.unbelievable.Keep up the good work and looking for more. Chris

This was a sweet movie and I really LOVED being exposed to Scottish Indian people....that's worth watching alone.

The movie did a great job with portraying how family members feel when one person breaks away....and the kinds of dynamics you have to work through when that person returns. The love story itself wasn't the best part of the film frankly, what was more interesting was whether the main character would choose her heart or run away.

So, even though this is an LGBTQ film....the best parts are actually the ethnic diversity, the family dynamics, and the question of how true will you be to yourself....and why you consider not.

I won't go into the sociological merits and cultural achievements of this film as I think they have been covered articulately and well by other reviewers.

Instead I would like to focus on the performances of the cast. Every actor in the cast plays their part very well but especially refreshing, moving and heart-tugging is the chemistry between Nina & Lisa. I congratulate the director for concentrating too on the love rather than sexual orientation, if that makes sense.

Of course the film is about a gay couple (Bobby and his guy) and the coming together of Nina and Lisa, but where the film really triumphs is simply showing the beauty of what's going on in the characters' hearts, without it being important at all which gender they are or which orientation. I think this is achieved by the absence of any overtly sexual scenes... I am, by the way, the LAST person anyone could call a prude, but a sex scene in this film would in fact have detracted from its quality and so was wisely omitted.

Instead, we simply see 2 human beings falling in love. The scene in the kitchen after the night club where Nina and Lisa have their first kiss is so utterly gorgeous it brought a tear to my eye which movies almost universally never achieve for me! I'm at risk of straying from what I set out to do, namely to praise the performances of the cast so back to the track! Shelly Con and Laura Fraser are totally convincing in their roles here. The looks they give each other, the smiles which reach deep into their eyes (and not just the mouth) are as magical as they are beautiful. This was not a story about sexuality or sexual attraction, but about love first and foremost. That is exactly what Shelly & Laura portrayed with outstanding warmth and sincerity.

It would also be a crime not to mention the warmth and humour of Ronny Jhuti who plays Bobbi. He manages to convey a comical, humorous yet humane, sensitive, intelligent and caring character with first rate ability. Bobbi's character could easily have become simply an object of fun with his camp antics. But Jhuti expertly brings ALL his character's personal qualities into view.

If gender IS to be focused on, then the film is a testament to Female love. I have long said that female and male love differ in their inherent nature (which is NOT to judge one over the other). There are 2 scenes where Priya & Nina comfort each other.... the tenderness of their sisterly love once again is wonderfully portrayed. It shows a tenderness and protection that is a sign of strength, not weakness and a message I have been trying to deliver to the world in my own work! Congratulations to all who were involved in this beautiful, funny, charming film. I'm saddened that so few people I mention it to have heard of it. I will do my best to increase the audience figures! :)

The film definitely conveys effectively the message it has intended to..

It questions the society's cynicism of lesbianism.. Is the social stigma attached to lesbianism so fundamental that personal happiness has to be sacrificed, even though it does not harm any other individual, excepting for their beliefs.. A bond between two individuals have many facets, as have the personalities..

The movie is well made..The main theme of lesbianism is dealt with at greater length than other LGBT relation, which have been lightly touched upon.. The story line is thin, but cute.. Photography and music are great.. Performance by Shelly Conn as Nina is very good.. Laura Fraser is beautiful ..Veena Sood as Suman ( Nina's mother)is really gorgeous and has given another great performance..

Though the ensemble is predominantly Asian-connected, the movie is not narrowed to Asian culture, but handles broader and deeper issues , relevant to all societies, more so to the western society..

Brilliant representation of Glasgow diversity. Fabulous city , fabulous people and a very strong film of life in Glasgow. A very easy and, yes, sugary film, but who doesn't enjoy a bit of sugar now and then. Well done to you and to hell with the pretentious critics. Brilliant film.