The Great Indian Kitchen Analysis

The Great Indian Kitchen (2021)

Written and Directed by: Jeo Baby
Edited by: Francis Louis
Streaming on: Neestream

This is pure cinema. Rarely do we come across cinema in its purest form. Especially the editing of the film. The editing of this film could start a new editing movement in itself. The film has a very peculiar editing style: the way they generally cut songs, the way we use montages to let go of the continuity of time - that's how they cut scenes. And they do that throughout film. Every shot cuts half a second before we expect it to cut. This sort of editing could lead to a whole new style of storytelling. The entire storytelling is done through editing. For example: after the father-in-law says that as house wives, they're doing as important jobs as administrators - the scene cuts to her washing an underwear. It's like proving him wrong within a snap. With a tight slap. There's a riveting scene, where she's on bed and she's reminded of all the filth that she has to go through in the day. It almost feels like women are purposefully ripped off of their beauty. The scene where the mother-in-law eats in the plate which her husband eats and leaves on the table - that's where I started getting into the headspace of the character.

The film is a beautiful marriage of filmmaking and activism. This is what we need. Films like this have the power to inspire people to think from the other perspective. Not films like Thappad. Or the modern social justice warriors. Every shot of the film reminded me of all the mistakes I've been doing. The reason the film works is because they challenge the traditional norms with humanity, with the primal instincts of humans - when we see someone fall down, we go and pick them up, when we are in pain or when we are suffering, we seek for medicine, we want to have a good time at home, feel a sense of self worth and respect - all of these are simple needs that are stripped off with the traditional norms. The film shows how women are made to even lose a sense of their own morality. The moment the husband gets angry for something she says in the restaurant - she starts second guessing herself - if she really said something wrong. That's manipulative. And I could understand how women buy into patriarchy and the norms of it. Flat-lay photography is a key part of the storytelling in this film - whether it's the dirty table, when she's in bed, the sink and many more. The film cohesively builds up to the explosive ending.