The Great Indian Kitchen: 'A revolutionary film'

The director of 'The Great Indian Kitchen' speaks about the film's making and its worldwide success

Cinema is a notoriously competitive field. Director Jeo Baby, without a single commercial hit under his belt, plunged into ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ (TGIK). Given the subject and the lack of superstars involved, it was a big risk. But Malayalam cinema knows how to find its way into the hearts and minds of people.

The film powerfully reflects the unfairness of women’s role in the kitchen. The title is sarcastic but the film isn’t. It’s a brutally hard-hitting take on deep-rooted misogyny and sexism in families. Women were ‘touched’ by it and called the film 'revolutionary'. Pampered men raised in patriarchal setups were guilt-tripped by it.

‘TGIK’, which dropped on the Amazon Prime Video last week, was picked for the ‘Shanghai International Film Festival’. Jeo spoke to Showtime on the film that had the nation talking.

Excerpts:

Did ‘TGIK’ bring a change in households?

Many men shared photographs of doing kitchen duties. Most of them aren’t honest. They are just showing off. You can’t make a big deal out of washing plates. My team is working on areas in which women and children can fight discrimination. We will make proposals and take them to the government. There should be new laws helping women. Only then can I say my film created a difference.

The film is a disturbing watch...

It was intentional. In fact, even I couldn’t digest a couple of scenes. We wanted men to feel uncomfortable. That’s why you see many long shots. The scenes are repetitive to make a greater impact. We wanted to show women’s loneliness inside the kitchen. So we first finalised an editing pattern and wrote the screenplay based on it.

Briefly, you show another family in which the husband handles cooking. Was it to avoid generalisation?

You can look at it that way also. But one shouldn’t conclude that the secret to a happy marriage lies in the husband’s cooking skills. For example, if there is a second part of ‘TGIK’, that couple might be divorced. There are many aspects that define a happy family. Sharing responsibilities in the kitchen is only one of them.

Were you apprehensive about taking a dig at gender politics and religious practices?

The film faced objections. But the negative sound didn’t get amplified because of our women across the country. They quashed needless arguments against the film. Another reason for the film’s smooth run is the story’s uniqueness. There have been films on discrimination against women but none of them had shown this face of it.

How did Suraj and Nimisha work on their roles?

Both of them never let their roles affect them. In fact, Nimisha was really jovial on the sets, doing funny things, and superbly transformed into the character in front of the camera. Suraj works differently. He was the one who insisted that the husband’s performance must be subtle. Before takes, he preferred practicing and discussions.

From struggling to reach people to being famous worldwide, ‘TGIK’ has had a rollercoaster journey...

I produced the film along with my friends as I knew popular production houses wouldn’t be interested in such scripts. We made the film to release it at festivals. But the pandemic happened and many festivals were cancelled. Television channels rejected the film saying ‘they were scared to telecast it’. Finally, we found a small OTT platform (Neestream) to screen it. The response was overwhelming, so much so that the website faced technical issues due to too many trying to watch it. Today, streaming giant Amazon Prime Video is showing our film. Many producers are keen on working with me. That’s what happens when you are fearless and don’t compromise on your subject.

Which filmmaker influenced you when you were an aspiring director?

KG George. If I take any subject for a film, I know KG George would have already shown it in his films. Suraj’s character in ‘TGIK’ isn’t verbally and physically abusive. He is a passive-aggressive man. You see a very similar character played by Karamana Janardhan Nair in KG George’s ‘Mattoral’. Even Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s ‘Elippathayam’ impacted me. So while writing or directing, I am unconsciously inspired by these legends.