Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Small business owner Aadarsh runs a struggling, greasy Chinese restaurant called ‘Noodle Home’ in Bengaluru, staffed by four North-Eastern migrant workers who all share a cramped flat provided by their boss. While Aadarsh dreams of opening a fine dining establishment, the sudden, suspicious death of one of his employees brings unforeseen challenges to them all.
Directed by Prateek Prajosh, the 2024 movie “Chilli Chicken” is an interesting peak into the lives of north-eastern migrant workers, who despite their best efforts to assimilate (all of them speak Kannada), are constantly made to feel like outsiders. But with multiple protagonists, the film flounders in finding its true focus. From starting off as a refreshing peak into the daily experiences of young immigrant workers, it morphs into a chaotic tale of death, possible murder, corruption, and toxic racism and regionalism.
Shrunga B.V. plays Aadarsh, the over-confident, barely working owner of ‘Noodle Home’, who over-works his employees, and treats them with little respect. The first hour of this 2-hour long movie takes its time in introducing the primary characters of the tale and their personal struggles. Aadarsh has a hard time securing a loan for his next venture and discovers that somebody has been stealing from the restaurant’s cashbox. His entire staff is from the north-east of India and they all stay together in a flat paid for by Aadarsh.
The hard-working Ajoy (Victor Thoudam) is promised a raise and a promotion by Aadarsh if he can find out who is misappropriating their funds. Ajoy meanwhile has his own problems, he wants to move-in with his girlfriend Anu (Harini Sundararajan), but the couple had a hard time finding a flat because they are unmarried. Their chef Khaba Meitei (Bijou Thaangjam) is also vying for the promotion as he has a kid on the way. The other two staff members Jimpa (Jimpa Sangpo Bhutia) and Jason (Tomthin Thokchom) are a lot more carefree.
Food has an on-and-off relationship with the plot of “Chilli Chicken”, you’d think it would be a crucial ingredient of the tale, like it was in Nicholas Kharkongor’s movie “Axone”, but it isn’t. Although, in the end, it emerges as the uniting factor between all the feuding characters, who clash on various issues through the runtime. However, unlike contemporary food-themed films, “Chilli Chicken” rarely features insta-worthy shots of Khaba cooking up a storm in the kitchen. The cinematography in-fact is slightly noir in tone, as if you’re watching a thriller film, which does complement some sections of the story, but feels off in other parts.
The title “Chilli Chicken” is deliciously ironic—neither capturing the fine-dining aspirations of Aadarsh nor reflecting the home cuisine of Chef Khaba and his friends. In a hilarious scene, Jimpa, the waiter, fumbles an order and tries to pass off chilli chicken as chilli paneer to a vegetarian family. This moment serves as a clever metaphor, highlighting how Northeast Indians are often hired in Chinese or Japanese restaurants, more as decorative tokens than for their culinary expertise or work ethics.
Instead of diving into multiple themes, the creators of “Chilli Chicken” should’ve stuck to a simpler plot, because the second half of the film is very muddled. The death of a character suddenly becomes the primary focus and isn’t seamlessly blended into the story. Regardless, it’s a laudable attempt at highlighting stories of Indians from the north-east.
Rating: 6 on 10. Watch “Chilli Chicken” on Prime Video.
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