21mu Tiffin review: Raunaq Kamdar-Netri Trivedi's acclaimed film is a sweet dish turned sour

While 21mu Tiffin starts off as promising, the movie then loses track to the extent that you actually wonder where the plot is going.

21mu Tiffin - Raunaq Kamdar, Nillam Paanchal.

21mu Tiffin

Story:

Dhruv (Raunaq Kamdar) has just moved in and needs a tiffin service. Neetal (Netri Trivedi)'s mother (Nillam Paanchal), on the other hand, is in a dilemma as Neetal wants her to shut down her business after the tiffin service affects her health. While a simple story at the crux, 21mu Tiffin has various layers that it explores with the movie.

Review:

Based on a short story of the same name, 21mu Tiffin is a simple story that could be effective if told in the correct manner. Unfortunately though, this movie is a very watered-down version of what could have been something amazing.

Raunaq Kamdar (who plays Dhruv) is introduced to the film from the very first scene. He is a go-getter while Netri Trivedi as Neetal has no care about the world. While Dhruv has a cute backstory, Neetal's story is intense from the word go. The difference in their life is quite a clear distinction of the different worlds men and women are born in.

Food has connected people all across and here, there are scenes doing that too. An old woman describing food will make you drool.

On the other hand, Dhruv manages to make an impression as the persistent '21mu Tiffin'. He is smooth in his role, to the extent that you sense something else happening. He brings a shine in Neetal's dysfunctional and borderline toxic family.

The scenes between Dhruv and Neetal's mother, played by Nillam Paanchal, tend to confuse you since she falls in love with him while he just plays along because he needs a tiffin and basically likes her food. The makers show glimpses of love through his gazes too but that is what is more confusing - about how they simply connected through a tiffin and later, felt like their worlds were one, when, like the film shows, it clearly wasn't.

One of the last scenes actually make this weirder since Neetal's mother actually sighs when she hears that Dhruv will not visit them anymore, while he never even knew her name. It's confusing to see what kind of a message do makers want to convey here. That a woman has to depend on another man for her happiness? That his actions define her life?

Verdict:

The story of 21mu Tiffin is almost outdated. Back when it was still a short story, the plot was coming-of-age since it dealt with an unspoken love between two generations. That has become common in today's times so there was nothing new to offer but execution. Unfortunately though, 21mu Tiffin does not do full justice to that either. While the emotions by the actors Raunaq and Nillam are apt for the scenes, this movie fails at the execution level and in delivering a good message. Why Netri is a part of the movie though, is still a huge question mark. This holds especially true since her role is basically a supporting character that the film could do without too.

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Cast and Crew

Raunaq Kamdar

Niilam Paanchal

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