When Huma Qureshi was asked if she would like to helm a biopic on India's culinary legend and Padma Shri awardee Tarla Dalal, ahead of the latter's tenth death anniversary, she was thrilled and nostalgic. The one person who came to her mind was Meryl Streep (she created an uncanny version of Julia Child in Julie & Julia, and with a spot-on accent). Both the film and Streep have been Qureshi's "forever favourites".
So, while there was no question of declining the opportunity, Qureshi knew she would have to work hard to convincingly look the part; to come close to looking like the legendary chef whom an entire generation grew up watching. But the odds were stacked against her-Qureshi is a hardcore non-vegetarian as against Dalal who was the exact opposite. Neither was non-vegetarian fare ever cooked in the Dalal household nor was anything ordered from outside. In fact, Dalal converted her non-vegetarian husband [Nalin Dalal] into a vegetarian after she saw him having meat with his colleague. Next was the issue of height; while Qureshi stands tall at five feet five inches, Dalal was petite at five feet two inches. The latter's dainty personality remains as much in public memory as her recipes so it was important to get that right. Also, Qureshi, with her longish face and a sharp bone structure, looked nothing like Dalal, whose wide jawline held that peculiar toothy grin that was so popular.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 23, 2023 من THE WEEK India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 23, 2023 من THE WEEK India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
