Rishi Kapoor’s last film ‘Sharmaji Namkeen’ is a light-hearted movie depicting emotional highs and lows along with the fact that the generation gap affects parent-child relationships. Namkeen literally means spicy and senior Kapoor hasn’t been anything else in the movie.
The movie is much more than a light-hearted comedy. It breaks age and gender-based stereotypes with wit, humour and realism. It shows how simple living is not enough. To live means to add spice to the slice of life. No wonder why Sharmaji took voluntary retirement from his job that kept him stuck in a routine. Coping up with retirement is not easy. One explores different aspects of themselves emotionally and psychologically. In this phase of his life, he meets a kitty group for ladies and develops a strong bond with them. Hitesh Bhatia depicts a story that has deeper meanings.
It emphasizes mental health by depicting anything like ‘Dear Zindagi’ (2016) and loneliness like ‘Baghban’ (2003) yet showcases genuinely lovable kids who were just trying to settle. This movie has a different take on loneliness, the mental health of a single-aged parent, women who are trying to cope in a patriarchal society, and youth who are constantly chasing success and self-love which is rare and underrated.
We all carry baggage with us and we can only relax when we understand how important it is to let go. This movie cleverly deals with the fact that one must empathize with themselves. The characters are real and relatable. It is much more than Rishi Kapoor’s last film. Every single character in the film feels like a real-life person you have met or you have been like.
Apart from all these serious deeper meanings and metaphors, one gets some amazing dishes to put on the menu throughout the film. Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal who play the same role, have a hobby of cooking and all one can see is some amazing dishes. Not only that you get secret cooking tips too.
The screenplay is full of realism with an amazing visual appeal. The blend of the story and characters is so perfect that one wouldn’t even realize that two people have played one role. After Rishi Kapoor’s death, this movie would have been impossible if Paresh Rawal wouldn’t step forward to fit into the role of Sharma Ji. The dialogues are straight from the heart with light somber music.
Rating: 3.5/5
