Salt N' Pepper

Salt N' Pepper
Directed by	Aashiq Abu
Written by	Syam Pushkaran Dileesh Nair
Produced by	Lucsam Cinema
Starring	Lal Asif Ali Shweta Menon Mythili Baburaj Vijayaraghavan
Cinematography	Shyju Kahild
Edited by	V. Saajan
Music by	Bijibal Avial
Production company	Lucsam Cinema
Distributed by	Lal Release
Release date	July 8, 2011 (2011-07-08)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	Template:Film India
Language	Malayalam

Salt N' Pepper is a 2011 Malayalam romantic comedy directed by Aashiq Abu. The film stars Lal, Asif Ali, Shweta Menon and Mythili in the lead roles while Baburaj and Vijayaraghavan play supporting roles.

The film narrates the love tale of two couples. The main characters are Kalidasan (Lal), an archaeologist, Maya (Shwetha Menon), a dubbing artiste, Meenakshi (Mythili), an IELTS student, Manu (Asif Ali), a happy-go-lucky management graduate, and Babu, Kalidasan's chef. Food plays an important role in the story and the tagline of the film is Oru Dosa Undakkiya Katha (The story born out of a Dosa).

The film features an original score composed by Bijibal. The soundtrack to the film features three songs composed by Bijibal and the song "Aanakkallan" written and sung by Malayalam rock band Avial. Shyju Kahild, who debuted through Traffic (2011), handles the camera. The film was produced by Lucsam Cinema and released by Lal release. Principal production for the film started on 3 January 2011. It released in theatres on 8 July 2011 to positive reviews and good initials.

Plot

Kalidasan (Lal) is a middle-aged bachelor working in the state Archaeological department and is a foodie. His only companion is his cook cum confidant Babu (Baburaj). Manu Raghav (Asif Ali) is Kalidasan's nephew and he comes to stay at his uncle's place while searching for a job.

Kalidasan's otherwise monotonous life moves into an altogether different direction with a wrong call from Maya (Shweta Menon), a bachelorette who is a dubbing artiste, living as a paying guest with her friend Meenakshi (Mythili). It all starts when Maya dials for a Dosa and gets Kalidasan on line, instead of the food joint. The initial conversations between these two create negative vibes and are peppered with choice abuses, but a long-distance romance develops because they have a common interest — cooking and food. If Kalidasan is a born foodie, Maya is reaching for her late mother by indulging in culinary activities which evoke a sense of deep nostalgia in her. Having struck up an affinity over the telephone, Kalidasan proceeds to let Maya into the secrets of baking a multi-layered cake called Joan's Rainbow.

The plot develops naturally as their conversations help to etch their characters. They both get the jitters before their first personal meeting and become conscious of their physical appearances. So they send younger and better looking substitutes for the meeting in the form of Manu and Meenakshi. This creates a lot of chaos which are resolved at the end.

Cast

Actor	Role	Notes
Lal	Kathali Parambil Kalidasan	He has some unique peculiarities. He is professionally an archeologist. At the same time, he is a foodie, a Semi cook and a good food critic. The role appears to be really different from all the roles Lal played till date.
Asif Ali	Manu Raghav	He is a carefree youngster character who often puts himself into awkward situations trying to be over friendly. Asif Ali says, "It's the one character among all that I have essayed that's closest to my real-life persona."
Shweta Menon	Maya	A bachelorette who is working as a dubbing artiste, she is also a foodie and is interested in cooking.
Mythili	Meenakshi	She is a bubbly and glamorous girl who is very beauty conscious and loves to take care herself.
Baburaj	Babu	Baburaj is a brahmachary (bachelor), hanuman devotee, and an excellent cook in the film.
Vijayaraghavan	Balakrishnan	Kalidasan's friend and colleague.
Ahmed	K. T. Mirash	Manu's friend and Meenakshi's teacher. He is an irksome guy who eats into your ears with undecipherable, nonsensical advice, as much as you are trying to vigorously shake him off.
Kelu Mooppan	Mooppan	He is a silent spectator from another culture, who merely has a toothless grin as an answer to most questions.
Kalpana	Mary	The owner of the house where Maya and Meenakshi live
Ambika Mohan	Itha	A regular customer at Mary's beauty parlour
Archana Kavi	Pooja Nair	Guest appearance as a girl on whom Manu tries to hit on.
Nandu	"Bhaskaran Nair"	Guest appearance as a fellow passenger in the train along with Manu and Pooja Nair
Dileesh Pothen	Director	A movie director who tries to woo Maya

Themes and analysis

References to food

The film has many clippings and mentions about authentic Kerala cuisine. The title song "Chembavu", which features visuals of famous eateries across Kerala such as Hotels Zain, Sagar, Paragon, and Bombay in Kozhikode, Hotel Buhari in Thiruvananthapuram, Kayikka's biriyani in Kochi, Paris hotel in Thalassery, and the unique three-metre tea at a stall in Kumbalangi, to name a few, besides some Kerala specialities such as Malabar Erachi pathiri. Even the lyrics of the song, written by Rafeeque Ahammed, has allusions to romance and food, such as equating the sentiment to palada prathaman sliding off a banana leaf and slippery slices of mango in a mampazha pulisheri!

It was a type of dosa called Thattil Kutty Dosa which builds up the situation for the protagonist (Kalidasan; played by Lal) of the film and the heroine (Maya; played by Swetha Menon) to meet. And, an intimate relationship develops between Kalidasan and Maya only after the former proceeds to let the latter into the secrets of baking a multi-layered cake known as Joan's Rainbow. The legend of Joan's Rainbow goes that at the end of the Second World War, a French soldier's wife started baking a strawberry cake to give her husband when he returned from the War. He didn't turn up that day, nor did he the next day when she had added a pistachio-flavoured layer to the cake. On the third day she baked a third layer, one in orange flavour, but he didn't come that day either. On the fourth day when she was about to lose hope, her husband arrived bearing a box of chocolates! The woman is said to have melted the chocolates and made a fourth layer, and served the rainbow of layers to her husband, sealing their bond of love forever.

On the other side when you see the movie the references of the food in the title song make the audiences feel that this movie is all about love and food and its almost true, But towards the climax of the movie its all about Love. The Director and the story writer could have made a better ending including something related to FOOD also.

Genre

The film is too heavy to be tagged as a romantic comedy. Food provides the backdrop for the film. Aashiq Abu says: "For a society that is so fond of food, this genre of cinema has not been really explored much in Mollywood [Malayalam cinema], save for a few films. As a foodie, I was inspired to make a film centred on food when I came across this interesting script by Syam Pushkaran and Dileesh Nair." Although food has provided the backdrop to a few films such as Mr. Butler, Kalyanaraman and Pavithram, a film of this kind is perhaps for the first time.

According to the director, "Salt n' Pepper' is meant to be a light-hearted entertainer; it's nothing serious – no big plots, no big twists – but plain old common sense, and dollops of good ol' fun."

Production

Script

The film was scripted by first-time writers Syam Pushkaran and Dileesh Nair. While Syam is a fashion designer-turned- visual media person who hails from Thuravur in Alappuzha district, Dileesh, a native of Thodupuzha, is a 2D animator. The screenwriter duo says, "We had a one-liner ready and had approached a few directors. Although most of them liked what they heard, no one was willing to turn it into a movie. Then along came director Aashiq Abu of Daddy Cool fame. Lucky for us Aashiq was looking for a light-hearted script, something to do before his next superstar film came through. He loved our one-liner enough to give us an advance on the spot and asked us to come back with a full-fledged script". The duo was inspired by films such as Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu, Meleparambil Aanveedu, Kodiyettam and Yavanika, and the literary works of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer.

Casting

Salt N' Pepper is Aashiq Abu's second directorial venture. Technicians such as music director Bijibal, costume designer Sameera Saneesh and V. Saajan had already collaborated with Aashiq in his first film, Daddy Cool. Shyju Kahlid, who cinematographed the film, had previously worked as an assisant cameraman with Sameer Thahir in Daddy Cool. The film was produced by Mumbai-based Lucsam Creations. Salt N' Pepper is their first project in Malayalam film industry. Casting was finalised by December 2010. The originally decided cast included Lal, Asif Ali and Mythili. Reportedly, Nedumudi Venu was also a part of the originally anounced cast.

Filming

The film started rolling eight months after the script was submitted. It was launched on 5 Jan 2011 with a pre-release blessing held at BTH Sarovaram, Kochi. The function was entirely different than usual. It was done by making a dosa on the stage by film producer Naushad. Principal production for the film started on 3 January 2011. It was shot completely in Thiruvananthapuram.

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews although some critics felt that certain scenes in the film are far from convincing. In Deccan Chronicle, Keerthy Ramachandran gave the film a three-star rating, writing "This is a movie which weaves together taste, flavor and love to make an exquisite recipe for good cinema. A must watch for all gourmets, Salt n' Pepper is sweet humour interspersed in a light plot." The critic described the film as "one of the most enjoyable films of recent times." The critic was all praise for the cast performances stating, "Shwetha Menon has acted brilliantly in the movie, proving that she has more to her than meets the eye. Lal has done complete justice to the role and appears likeable throughout the movie. But, the major share of credit should go to Baburaj — the stereotypical villain in Malayalam cinema. The role of Kalidasan’s cook is a milestone in his career. Asif Ali and Mythili appear perfect in their roles. Actor Vijaya Raghavan in a cameo has made a commendable appearance." Navamy Sudhish of The New Indian Express said, "A delightful addition to GenY fun flicks, ‘Salt n’ Pepper’ is an out-and-out entertainer. It gives two hoots to time-tested tricks and indulges you with a stimulating storyline and unfeigned artistry." The critic labelled the script "smart", Shyju Khalid's frames "rich" and "peachy", and Bijibal's background score "superb". The critic appreciated Ashiq Abu saying, his "narrative technique is unpretentious and devoid of any jaded gimmickry." Paresh C. Palicha of Rediff.com said, "Director Aashiq Abu has put together the right ingredients in his new film Salt N' Pepper and come up with quite an interesting dish." The reviewer feels that the film is to the taste of all sections of the audience. Veeyen of Nowrunning.com said, "Aashiq Abu and his team adhere to the golden rules of good cooking, and see to it that the griddle is all hot, before they gently spread out a light hearted Dosa story on it." The critic also praised the cast peformances and Shyju Kahlid's cinematography. A reviewer from Sify.com said, "Salt n’ Pepper may have its own share of shortcomings, but the sincerity with which it has been made is there to be seen in the film. It’s a young film which oozes lots of freshness and it is enjoyable for people of all ages, especially if you love your food."

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the film features three songs composed by Bijibal and a song writen by Malayalee rock band Avial. Considering the emotions handled by the film, Bijibal composed two romantic melodies and a folk song for the film. Avial wrote and performed the song "Aanakkallan" for the film. It is the band's first release since its self-titled debut album which released in 2008. Avial singer Tony says that this song is more or less like a teaser for their second album. A music video was filmed which was included after the climax of the film. Tony says: "We had loads of fun shooting the video, which is very kind of like what you would see in a music video rather than a filmy number". The video, directed by Aashiq Abu, is the second one for Avial after their first hit "Nada Nada". It's also the first Avial track with Tony John as the lead singer and Benjamin Isaac as the bass player.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"Kaanamullal"	Bijibal, Santhosh Varma	Shreya Ghoshal, Ranjith	3:41
2.	"Chembavu"	Bijibal, Rafeeque Ahammed	Pushpavathy	3:38
3.	"Premikkumbol"	Bijibal, Rafeeque Ahammed	P. Jayachandran, Neha Nair	3:10
4.	"Aanakkallan"	Avial	Avial	3:58
5.	"Kaanamullal"	Bijibal, Santhosh Varma	Shreya Ghoshal	3:41

External links

• Official blog
• Salt n' Pepper is a cultural milestone
• Salt N' Pepper at IMDb