2025 marks the return of actress and director Tannishtha Chatterjee to BIFF, six years after receiving the Marie Claire Asia Star Award for her directorial debut “Roam Rome Mein.” Premiering in the section A Window on Asian Cinema, her sophomore effort “Full Plate” is a witty and irreverent tale of female emancipation where cooking is deployed as a tool of sociological analysis.
Honored again this year with the Marie Claire Visionary Director Award as one of the most innovative voices on the Asian scene, Chatterjee managed to complete the post-production of “Full Plate” in time for the festival’s submission deadline, despite her recent health concerns.
After her husband’s (Sharib Hashmi) ability to work has been compromised by an accident, Amreen (Kirti Kulhari) needs to start acting as both breadwinner and mother of three. Thanks to a friend’s reference, she lands a part-time job as cook for an upper-class couple, yet the neighborhood–she belongs to a Muslim enclave–does not look kindly on her new lifestyle. While familiarizing herself with the new ingredients and the quirks of the homeowner (Monica Dogra), Amreen will have to keep confronting her possessive spouse in order to assert her independence.
Relying on the on-screen chemistry between Kulhari and the rest of the cast–especially with the young actors playing as her children–the movie portrays the transition of the main character from passive receiver –of principles, customs, and prejudices– to challenger of the status quo, in a subdued, anti-spectacular fashion that makes Amreen feel relatable to the audience.
That being said, Chatterjee’s script appears indecisive on the overall direction that the film should take. At times, “Full Plate” feels like an ode to the culinary tradition of the Mumbai area, with handheld camera shots of the food stalls reminiscent of ethnographic documentaries. Other times, the focus shifts to the underrepresented reality of the Muslim minority, though the larger picture of the power relations inside the community is not directly addressed. Finally, one could read “Full Plate” as a commentary on the huge divides –in terms of education, income, and quality of life– that shape the megalopolis of Mumbai, to the point that different neighborhoods rather look like different countries.
Sadly, “Full Plate” is all of these things, and none of them at the same time. Hindered by a happy ending that feels rushed and simplistic, in stark contrast with the slow pace that characterizes it until the very last ten minutes, the film fails to reach a meaningful conclusion in either domain: The social commentary is but a rough sketch, and such are the insights on the supposed healing power of food, too.
Lacking directorial personality except for two dreamlike sequences, “Full Plate” does, however, adopt a very distinctive approach to music. The original soundtrack created by the duo Rohan-Rohan (Rohan Pradhan & Rohan Gokhale) paces the film, creating an interesting mismatch between the situation Amreen finds herself in and her inner world, rich with hip-hop vibes and rhythm attuned to her feelings.
In the end, “Full Plate” thus earns the label of ‘watchable,’ but does not live up to the expectations disclosed by Chatterjee’s previous feature, while hopes for her future career steps still remain high.