Ustad Hotel (2012)

Best movie of this year hands down!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

We see a lot of movies every year (or say week in my case), but not every movie would leave us with such everlasting memories like some movies. Ustad Hotel is one such movie which i can recall with extreme accuracy even though i watched it years ago. This is an example of extremely good writing. You can't wake up one fine morning and write ustad hotel, it requires months of experience and thinking. The movie has such a tightly coupled setting and strong native binding that even if u remove a single brick out even if it is a very small one like kareem ikka biriyani or sulaimani, it won't look good. The movie treats its primary thing(food) with utmost respect. Just look at every scene in which food is being displayed. It has such fantastic scenes like the one in the pic and the whole climax episode in madurai. There are some movies which can make your entire day awesome irrespective of how down you are and make you wish that the movie never ends. When someone combines your favorite thing in the world(food) with your favorite genre(feel-good drama) and have such a good team working for it, Ustad Hotel is the end product. Even if you take world cinema there can be only a handful of movies with such good writing. Wish Anjali Menon and team keeps producing such gems.(TL;DR - watch ustad hotel if you love food or when you feel down if language is not a barrier.)

Covering multiple genre of movies, Ustad Hotel is a must watch. The plot revolves around Feyzee, a slightly spoilt brother, a son with a lot of expectation from his rather conservative father but with mind of his own. Then, his grandfather (estranged from his father), comes into his life and helps him find his mojo and purpose in life. Ustad Hotel is a fair reflection of societal pressures put onto young person, mostly when the person is a son. There are also references and quite satirical state of sexism existing in the Malayali culture. One of the most memorable performance by Thilakan, one of the last ones he did. Hence, there is an emotional element to the climax of the film for his fans, pretty much all Malayali film lovers.

The holy offspring when a beautiful story meets a group of gifted artists and a fabulous film crew. The movie completely engulfs you until you give in to a sublime story telling. And to top it up with a fabulous soundtrack is like icing the cake with gold. This joyous movie ride promises you with comedy, clean concise romance before surprising you with a larger delicate theme of a social stigma that plagues our country. The culmination of the movie deserves nothing less than a standing ovation. Mazel Tov to this wonderful team.I'm no critic. I don't know the finer details about movie-making. Ustad Hotel satiated my soul and has cast a lingering effect on me. It is only very rarely that one doesn't feel even a tinge of regret when he has spent 180 bucks for a movie ticket. What Anjali Menon conveys through Kareem-kka (Thilakan) finds profound meaning in the philosophy of everything:"Vayaru nirachal mathram pora mone... kazhikkunna aalinte manassu nirayanam. Athanu kayipunyam" (It's not enough to just cook for filling one's stomach my son... the food must fill one's heart. He makes the real chef)

Its a plain coming of age story of a youngster, how he understands the value of life, relatives etc.The first thing that comes to my mind after watching the film is the BG (first time i am seeing claps for just the BG), Gopi Sunder has done a terrific job. Direction by Anwar Rasheed is of top class. Camera work is too good & treat to your eyes, Calicut has never been presented this beautifully. Anjali Menon as a writes has done a neat job, even-though it looses some grip in the second half, where the movie tend to be bit preachy and has a documentary feel. Performance of Thilakan stands out, good to see Maamookkoya in a lengthy role (in a commercial film) after a long gap. Dulquer was good, the role was not that demanding, he just had to be himself a happy go lucky guy. Nithya Menon looked fresh in a small role.The first half is very good while the 2nd half a tad above average. Should be a pleasant watch for everyone, despite few shot comings.Comparing with Happy Journey, Manjadikkuru (Anjali Menon) & Bridge (Anwar Rasheed) the movie may fall well short of expectations.