Tarla review: Huma Qureshi brings a heartwarming and inspiring biopic

3/5

Tarla, a biographical drama film, is based on the famous and internationally acclaimed Indian chef and author Tarla Dalal.

Recently, there has been a wave in Bollywood for biographical projects. Some of these ventures seem unnecessary and boring to watch, while a few stand out in the crowd and appear engaging, entertaining, or sometimes just so inspiring. Earlier, the 2020 film Shakuntala Devi starring Vidya Balan was one of those flicks, while now the Huma Qureshi starrer Tarla is here with its heartwarming real-life story. It's not phenomenal, yet it's a watch-worthy movie for a lot of reasons.

It begins on a note, where Tarla (played by Huma) explains to her future husband Nalin (Sharib Hashmi) that she wants to do something in life; however, she currently doesn't have clarity on it. A decade goes by when it hits her that she has not done that 'something' yet. However, soon after that, she starts giving cooking lessons to a lot of girls on someone's advice, and that's how she realises her passion.

The biographical tale further takes on how she carves the path not only for herself but for her students as well in order to make them realise the importance of their dreams and desires and how to achieve them with the help of cooking. It most certainly will irk today's women. However, Tarla showcases the harsh reality of the late 1990s and early 2000s adorably and subtly.

Talented and graceful Huma, as usual, wins hearts with her chameleon art of getting into the skin of any character she plays. Known for mastering accents, her Hindi dialogues, with a few notable Gujarati lingos and accents, appear real. Even with a great performance, the actor's appearance seems questionable and like a forceful attempt to look like the real Tarla Dalal.

Sharib also gives an impeccable performance and once again proves his versatility on screen. Meanwhile, Veenah Naair and the veteran Bharti Achrekar support the ensemble well with their poles apart characters.

Tarla showcases how patriarchy consumes people who try to do the right thing in a man's world. The ending of the film, with Nalin's realisation of what he lacked even after being one of the better husbands at that time, makes you take a breather. He is certainly not ideal, but it makes you understand his thought process and where it comes from.

In terms of technicalities and sometimes stretchiness, Tarla does become a tad bit of a slack-ish and forceful watch in the middle; however, the whole journey of an ordinary middle-class housewife turning into an internationally acclaimed chef inspires you.

Gautam Ved and Piyush Gupta's screenplay as well as the latter's adequate execution do work in this light-hearted tale of a woman who becomes an inspiration to Indian ladies as well as makes her country proud with her culinary art. Even though the forceful stretch in the middle makes it a one-time watch.

Stream Tarla on ZEE5.