F : Food in Hindi Films / Bollywood #AtoZChallenge 2019

There are very few Hindi films that celebrate food in the truest sense. Stanley Ka Dabba (Stanley's Tiffinbox) really romances the food. It juxtaposes a child's hunger with the most delicious food to a devastating effect.  Lunchbox was another film where food builds bond between two strangers. Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana though didn't show food the way such a film should, it really took me down the food lanes from the past. 

But let me not disappoint you. My challenge is to write about cliches in Bollywood. Here I will have to introduce Chekhov's Law. It states that ‘If in Act I (of any script or book or movie) you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act’ . The same is true for food in Hindi films. With a slight twist though. If food appears in a scene in a Hindi film, especially if there is a cake, there has to be a food fight soon after. This cliched scene has been used in several movies in past to mine some laughs from the gullible audience. 

But the following scene turns Chekhov's Law on its head. It has a gun and a food item (an Indian flatbread) playing a really important role. Please note this scene is meant to be an intense and emotional one. But when I see it today and without context of the whole film, it comes across as extremely hilarious and stupid. In this film, Izzatdaar (honorable) one of the protagonists doesn't fire the gun, because the other protagonist uses the flatbread as a shield. It is used as a metaphor for the mother's love, as the gun wielding protagonist has a strange emotional connect with that flatbread. 

Another Bollywood cliche related to food that I can recall is about the fight scenes that occur when hero is about to eat or already eating food. In these scenes the hero has to tackle the goons without letting the food fall down. Or he has to continue eating food oblivious to these goons and still beating them somehow with actions that are part of his food eating routine. Like as he picks his glass to drink water, his elbow will move side-wards hitting the goon who is about to attack him from that side. Of course it is not choreographed ;-) But some films are so bad that they don't get it right. In the following scene, hero is about to eat a really ugly looking item of food. Goons Attack! Hero fights back! And takes a winning bite! But food does fall down at one point of time! Epic fail!

Thankfully, Bollywood has done away with this cliche. Today's heroes look so lean, I doubt they eat food at all. But Mark Twain has a word of advice for them. "The secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside."

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Hindi Film Industry / Bollywood cliches. You can read the theme reveal post here.

2017 Challenge Post from Letter F: Fish in the Pond - An anecdote from my past which ended well for me. Click here to read. 

2018 Challenge Post from Letter F: FREE SPIRIT - Why do I write? - It was a simple post about why I feel compelled to write. Click here to read. 

Y : Yumdude

Yumdude is my handle / user name on Zomato. 

For the uninitiated, Zomato is a leading food ordering, restaurant search and review app in India. They are present in other countries too.

For the ones, who are not aware of Indian mythology, Yama is God of Death and Doot means messenger. Yamdoot is Yama's Messenger and my handle is a play on that. I thought I was being original and relevant while keeping this name. But, to my disappointment, much later, after I made this handle, I discovered a T - Shirts brand called Yum Dude and Snapdeal did a campaign with a character called Yam Dude. Huh! One can never be sure in today's world. And I think being original is going to be increasingly difficult.

If I haven't lost you already, let me tell you that this post is not about originality or Zomato handles. I am a foodie and I wanted to document my love for food in some way. I have done almost 100 restaurant reviews under this handle and I feel my journey has just begun.

They say a Punjabi's adventure gets over at the last Sher-e-Punjab Dhabha on his journey. I don't know if that is true, because I enjoy all kind of cuisines. When I eat somewhere, I don't add ketchup or salt / pepper to what is served. I love to eat food the way the cook wants it to be eaten. I had heard somewhere, this is a respectful thing to do for your host or chef. Over the years, due to this habit of mine, I developed a taste for different cuisines. Yes, some foods are still off the table, like pungent smelling foods. I won't ever have reptiles and insects. I will never fall for the fad of eating live food. But I mostly try everything otherwise.

I can't name my favorite food, but I have a weakness for sweets. I remember every time my school results would come, I would ask my mother to buy a Bengali sweet called Chena Murki (made with Sugar & Cottage Cheese). So this sweet reminds me of success. 

Whenever I smell, a mixture of flour, ghee and sugar being roasted, I get reminded of my grand-mother, who used to prepare delicious Pinnis. No one can cook Makki ki Roti and Sarson Ka Saag better than my mother. I think every proud Punjabi son thinks the same about his mother. But the memory associated with this food is so strong, that every time I go home, I know my mother will cook it for me. And I think I get a dopamine hit in anticipation, before I even reach home.

While I enjoy all my fine dining experiences, if I have to choose my best food moments, they are not related to a very costly restaurant or any complex dish. Chena Murki, Pinnis and Makki ki Roti with Saag will be at the top always. And there are few places / food moments which are etched in my memory very strongly. 

Once during our school vacations, my father took us to a trip to Kullu and Manali. A long stretch of the journey was along the river Beas. Beas had gushing ice cold water. We sat at one such spot and got some mangoes chilled in that water and then we ate them by the side of the road on the banks of the river.

On yet another trip to Manikaran Sahib, we had a breakfast of hot stuffed parathas with butter and really sweet tea at a road side dhabha. Cheap, yes. But at that time, it was the most heavenly food.

There was a shop near my home that served Chhole Bhature. I used to go there often, but my favorite part was when the cook used to keep two fresh pieces of paneer on the plate. That was like a reward for eating there.

I discovered cheesecake very late in life. I was on my honeymoon, and we were shopping in Kuala Lumpur and we saw a cheescake shop. I had never tried it before. And when, I had the first bite, I knew Chena Murki and Pinni had a strong competition. After that I tried cheesecakes everywhere. But I got my best experience at the Cheesecake Factory Dubai Mall. This is what I had there. If food can kill, this is the way I would like to die. Tell me your food story.