Decent effort but you wouldn't miss anything if you haven't watched it. Chef suffers a lot in terms of direction, with an otherwise strong plot. Music was perhaps the strongest point of the movie - especially "Shugal Laga Le" (not "sugar laga le") by Raghu Dixit is to be watched out.
Story (7/10): Chef is a rags-to-riches story of Chef Roshan Kalra who starts off from Chandni Chowk to make it big in NYC restaurant and 3 Michelin stars. However, as the success gets into his head, his downfall starts and soon he finds himself out of work and away from the family he ignored for so long due to his career. As he tries to make peace with his unemployed life, he, reluctantly, takes this as an opportunity to bond with his son in India and also rediscover the old Roshan Kalra by going back to his roots where it all started and get his mojo back. It was a great plot but the story/screenplay screws up things very badly. Too many things were left to audience's imagination as the writer doesn't spend much time in building the background for the protagonists' downfall or the inexplicable chemistry between him and his ex-wife. The second half of the story is much better written, however it is still not enough to compensate from the confusion the first half creates.
Acting (6/10): With no big names the department didn't have much to offer. Even after more than two decades in the industry Saif doesn't have a reputation to shoulder a movie on his own and this movie doesn't change that. However, he still does a good job - especially with respect to the character - picking up the knife skills to the least. Padmapriya was too flat faced across scenes to generate any emotions. Svar Kamble, playing Chef's son, was good to watch taking a good amount of load in terms of acting. Dhanish Karthik plays a good supporting role to Saif. Cameo of Milind Soman was good and refreshing, so was that of Raghu Dixit.
Direction (6/10): The class that Raja Menon showed in Airlift was completely missing here. In total contradiction, he spent very little time in building a background for the story. The downfall of the chef just didn't seem convincing and trying to replicate Gordon Ramsay through Saif Ali Khan was just a wishful thinking. Raja could have done a little more to build a good and convincing chef instead of just showing him making pasta all the time - the only other two things his chef made in the movie was a chutney and his invention called Rottza. His chemistry with his ex-wife is weirdly portrayed - although the good part is that the movie doesn't show divorce in a bad light conveying that two understanding adults can separate on good terms too. The dance sequence shown between the two was amazing to watch.
Overall (6/10): I loved the plot and the overall story, but the direction and poor casting almost kills the movie. If you give it a skip, won't matter.
Story (7/10): Chef is a rags-to-riches story of Chef Roshan Kalra who starts off from Chandni Chowk to make it big in NYC restaurant and 3 Michelin stars. However, as the success gets into his head, his downfall starts and soon he finds himself out of work and away from the family he ignored for so long due to his career. As he tries to make peace with his unemployed life, he, reluctantly, takes this as an opportunity to bond with his son in India and also rediscover the old Roshan Kalra by going back to his roots where it all started and get his mojo back. It was a great plot but the story/screenplay screws up things very badly. Too many things were left to audience's imagination as the writer doesn't spend much time in building the background for the protagonists' downfall or the inexplicable chemistry between him and his ex-wife. The second half of the story is much better written, however it is still not enough to compensate from the confusion the first half creates.
Acting (6/10): With no big names the department didn't have much to offer. Even after more than two decades in the industry Saif doesn't have a reputation to shoulder a movie on his own and this movie doesn't change that. However, he still does a good job - especially with respect to the character - picking up the knife skills to the least. Padmapriya was too flat faced across scenes to generate any emotions. Svar Kamble, playing Chef's son, was good to watch taking a good amount of load in terms of acting. Dhanish Karthik plays a good supporting role to Saif. Cameo of Milind Soman was good and refreshing, so was that of Raghu Dixit.
Direction (6/10): The class that Raja Menon showed in Airlift was completely missing here. In total contradiction, he spent very little time in building a background for the story. The downfall of the chef just didn't seem convincing and trying to replicate Gordon Ramsay through Saif Ali Khan was just a wishful thinking. Raja could have done a little more to build a good and convincing chef instead of just showing him making pasta all the time - the only other two things his chef made in the movie was a chutney and his invention called Rottza. His chemistry with his ex-wife is weirdly portrayed - although the good part is that the movie doesn't show divorce in a bad light conveying that two understanding adults can separate on good terms too. The dance sequence shown between the two was amazing to watch.
Overall (6/10): I loved the plot and the overall story, but the direction and poor casting almost kills the movie. If you give it a skip, won't matter.