I would term ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ a slice-of-life drama, meaning that it captures a slice of the ordinary and mundane existence of real life. This unique film examines the life of a newly married Malayalam couple. The story is told from the woman’s point of view. Neither the husband nor the wife are ever referred to by their actual names giving the couple an every man or woman feeling.
Our story begins before the marriage. The future bride is taking a dancing lesson. She is radiant and it is evident that dance is her passion. She is of marriageable age and her father has chosen a husband for her. A meeting of both families is set for the couple to introduce themselves. The groom’s family is from a well to do family of teachers. The groom seems nice enough. But signs of trouble are already there. When the couple are left alone to get to know each other, neither can think of anything to say. Not a ”What are you interested in?” or “What are you expecting in this marriage?”, or a “Do you want to have children?” It seems they both have preconceived notions of how marriage will be, so there is no need to inquire further. Let us just get on with it.
After the marriage and following tradition, the wife moves into the husband’s family home. This small family consists of the couple and his father and mother. The bride quickly falls in line assisting her mother-in-law making three fresh meal a day, washing clothes, and making sure the house is clean. She is able to carry this burden when she is helping, but the mother is soon called away to help her own daughter who is pregnant. The bride’s daily chores increase and become an unbearable burden. Father and son are quite comfortable with their lifestyle. They are not willing to adjust to making life easier for a woman. In fact, it never crosses their minds.
Her father-in-law expects the chores to be done the traditional way. This means the rice can’t be cooked in a cooker, it must be cooked over an open flame. The clothes can’t be washed by machine, as the old-fashioned way of pounding them on a rock is better. When she asks about getting a job to escape this exhausting routine, she is told a woman place is in the home. A leak develops under the kitchen sink causing her frustration and extra work. She asks her husband if he would call a plumber in to fix it. He will if and when he thinks of her problem again. When she makes her way into the bedroom at night, feeling exhausted and smelly, her husband will be waiting, smiling and affectionate, for her to perform her last duty of the night.
“The Great Indian Kitchen’ is a deceptively simple story of an arranged marriage written and directed by Jeo Baby. Director Jeo has made a powerful film, one that examines long-held traditions in Indian society about the roles of men and women. Actress Nimisha Sajayan as the wife, is wonderful at showing us a modern and educated woman who expects a more equal partnership in marriage. Suraj Venjaramoodu is self-absorbed and clueless as a husband who has no interest in getting to know his wife. While Nimisha is flexible and confident enough to change her situation when it doesn’t suit her, Suraj will keep on repeating the same mistakes.
“The Great Indian Kitchen’ has won the 51st Kerala State Film Award for Best Film and Jeo Baby has won the Best Screenplay Award.
