Sharmaji Namkeen Movie Review — Sucharita Tyagi
Iss movie ke cold open mein Ranbir Kapoor ko dekh kar it hit me like a sucker punch, ki I haven’t seen the love of my life in a feature since… ‘Sanju’? Which was a terrible film. So my last good on-screen memory of him is from ‘Jagga Jaasos!’
Wow.
Hey, y’all! This is a movie review and today we’re talking about the late Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal, both in and both as ‘Sharmaji Namkeen’.
Sharma Ji, like many of our fathers, is known in the community by his last name, lives in a modest home, and has just retired from a job he’s seemingly had his whole life. At 58, his life is suddenly at a stand-still, and without a spouse to accompany him every day, he doesn’t quite know what to do with the sudden gift/curse of free time.
Circumstances lead him to convert his hobby of cooking into a part-time job, and things begin to change.
On the surface, this film is about this man’s life post-retirement, but as you stay with it, it's surprisingly insightful, astute, and accurate about so much more. BG Sharma’s relationship with his sons is explored beautifully, with the help of some very clever writing. A subplot about a new apartment jiski possession nahi mil rahi hai, becomes our entryway to take a closer look at the bond between Sharma and his firstborn.
A young man, respectful and loving, but struggling to get his hathi father to bend a little. It's quite incredible how this relationship is approached not just from the father’s POV, but also the son’s and ALSO the casual bystander’s POV, in the form of Chaddha Ji, a helpful but nosy neighbor. References are made to the world’s worst movie ever ‘Baghbaan’, “aaj kal ke bachey” is thrown around a lot. But no one side is demonized, unlike ‘Baghbaan’.
Literally the worst.
Widowed Sharma’s inability to express love for his children, and how that has come in the way of them developing an adult-to-adult connection, is heartbreaking to watch. The younger son, still in college, does slightly favor his father over his over-ambitious older brother, the sibling dynamic is shrewdly observed and penned down by Hitesh Bhatia and co-writer Supratik Sen. Suhail Nayyar is marvelous as his older brother, Rinku, caught between wanting to leave and pursue his own love life, hopes, ambitions while figuring out what to do with the nagging guilt of having to leave a single, non-malleable parent behind.
Completely unexpectedly a chunk of the action plays out in one local kitty party circle, with Sheeba Chaddha just living her best life as leader of the pack, with a gorgeous Juhi Chawla enabling her every move as a loyal girl-friend would. Main toh baar baar bolti hoon koi aapko aunty bole toh uska bura matt maano, I cant WAIT to be an aunty because aunties don’t give a rat’s ass, bolte raho tum joh kehna hai.
Unko sirf mazey karne hain, aur joh liberation kitty party mein hain woh kaheen nahi. Idhar also, I was blown away with the attention and respect with which this group of women is written. They aren’t all middle-aged, some are young wives, with toddlers, and some are old enough to be grandma’s, a community created and brought together by necessity, finally fully proud of the space they occupy in this world, building each other up, offering monetary loans and sexual advice, without judgment.
Sneha Khanwalkar’s music, plus actor Gopal Datt’s lyrics become the perfect boundary wall holding this stupendously fun sub-plot safe. My favorite is “mera laal tamatar” sung to the tune of “mera laung-gawacha”. Sung by Kanika Kapoor, jinka gaana “Baby Doll” is already globally Kitty Party favorite hai.
Just so fun to watch, mereko bhi koi kitty mein le lo yahaan Mumbai mein.
‘Sharmaji Namkeen’ shines in its small moments. Yes, a hilarious climax plays out at a police station, but the tiny bits and pieces leading up to it are really what stands out. How different generations use social media differently, gendered roles in our households and how the most woke among us also occasionally are influenced by sexist ways of our societies, how Amul Kool almond flavor becomes “almond milk” at a kitty party, and how coteries need to give way to communities for people to be able to transition from one phase of life to the other.
Rishi Kapoor in his swan song is nearly impeccable as Sharma, and I do believe it’s a first where he appears in one scene as the titular character and immediately Paresh Rawal in the next, going back and forth throughout the film, extraordinarily seamlessly. A daring decision, but one that pays off surprisingly well. The film is an ode to Rishi Kapoor, starting with his son, and ending with jovial outtakes from his final work on screen, as Om Shanti Om plays on in Kishore Kumar’s voice. After a movie that IS about aging parents, it's all terribly moving, not gonna lie.
Sharmaji Namkeen is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Khaana kha ke, bharey pet dekhna, there’s a LOT of delicious food on screen.
Now for Relation Mein Recommendation:
For those of you who remember actor Suhail Nayyar as Jassi from ‘Udta Punjab’, look up the movie ‘Hotel Mumbai’, starring Dev Patel, Jason Issacs, Amie hammer, Anupam Kher. Uss film mein Suhail plays one of the 26/11 terrorists, and it’s a pretty great performance, holding his own in front of many veteran actors. While that film can be faulted for exploiting a disaster for cinematic gains, I've found it to be one of the better, more respectful depictions of the Mumbai terror attacks. Watch ‘Hotel Mumbai’ on Zee 5.
