Annapoorani (2023), feels half cooked

Annapoorani: The Goddess of Food (2023) is a much-talked-about film starring Nayanthara. Next to sports dramas, stories revolving around food—especially of an underdog chef fighting odds—tend to connect easily with audiences. This one too had a promising setup but loses its flavour when the screenplay strays into preachy religious and devotional territory. It is available to stream on Netflix. Mangoidiots rates it Raw.

Annapoorani is the daughter of a temple cook at the holy Srirangam temple. Coming from an orthodox vegetarian family, her ambition of becoming a world-class chef forces her to take a bold step—tasting meat, so she can learn to cook it. Her parents disapprove of her career dreams, but she secretly pursues culinary studies and joins a professional kitchen. The story follows her journey through challenges, rivalries, and a demanding cooking competition. Parallel to this, there is a love track with a young Muslim man, played by Jai.

I found the pairing of Jai and Nayanthara to be refreshing—they made an interesting on-screen couple. The cooking contest in the final segment was engaging and well done. However, scenes involving Annapoorani offering prayers before cooking biryani during the competition felt unnecessary for the narrative. I have no objection to prayer being part of a character’s journey, but here it felt more inserted than organic.

Achyuth Kumar is convincing as Annapoorani’s conservative father, and Renuka as her mother brings warmth to her role. Sathyaraj appears as a master chef and plays the part effortlessly.

In summary, Annapoorani starts with an interesting plot and appealing themes around food and ambition, but its meandering screenplay takes away from what could’ve been a satisfying watch.