Reviews & Ratings for
लव शव ते चिकन खुराना (2012)

Luv Shuv tey Chicken Khurana is roughly 'Love etc and a family chicken-dish.' Tey, in Punjabi, is 'and'. Khurana is the family's surname and name of their restaurant.

It's a little slow in parts -- debut director -- but it has that magic sweetness that Aaja Nachle did not have -- and the emotional family drama oomph that I was seeking.

I started watching it last night and finished watching the end today. It's streaming on Netflix, and annoyingly the subtitles lag by a few seconds.

I'm not even going to bother to link to the trailer - because that doesn't give you the flavor (pun intended!) of it at all.

Omi (the gorgeous Kunal Kapoor) has been in London for 10 years and is in trouble with a gangster. The gangster sends him home to Punjab to get money from his family, or he's done for. So, we learn in flashback that Omi had stolen out in the dead of night, leaving the provincial life behind and his family's famous chicken restaurant shack against his familiy's wish. When he returns from London,the family greets him with open arms (even though he had stolen the money to leave all those years ago). His grandfather now has dementia, and the problem is the restaurant has closed because no one knows what the secret ingredient is in the famous Chicken Khurana recipe.

Omi lies to his family that he is a successful lawyer in London. His cousin Jeet is engaged to the girl Omi left behind -- Harman played wonderfully by Huma Qureshi. She is STILL pissed that he left her like that 10 years back, and has since become a doctor. Neither she nor Jeet seemed thrilled about their engagement -- and we gradually learn Jeet's secret. His secret is so awful, or he thinks it will be, to the point that he almost commits suicide.

There's a crazy uncle Titu and a guru aunt, just thrown in for the comedic bits, I guess. I'm not going to spoiler what the secret ingredient is. Kathy Gibson guessed in her review from one flashback scene, but it still wasn't obvious to me till later in the film when Omi figures it out. (She only gave the movie 2 stars, but I liked it more.)

The core to me is that Omi comes to appreciate the simple life with his family again, as he reconnects with them. He tries to recreate the chicken recipe trying every spice imaginable, and asking Harman to help him as he doesn't know how to cook! This leads to many longing glances and very cute chemistry between them. Harman stays pissed for quite a long time, and i loved how she sassed him, calling him a dog. When he gets injured and comes to her hospital, she tells him, "We don't treat animals here."

Finally one night.....okay, I'm not going to spoiler it. It was such a delightful little surprise to me. It's in the trailer, but I replayed that good night little scene at least three times in a row. It was just wonderful.

Omi serves his family his version of the chicken dish, and secrets are revealed and all ends happily in a very sweet way. The almost epilogue finale ending with the gangster is a little whacky, but overall the sweetness wins out. Gee, do you think Omi really sold the secret recipe to his grandpa's rival restaurant? There's not really dance sequences, except a little at an engagement party, but the music was different and fun.

Kunal Kapoor and Huma Qureshi both act wonderfully in this film, and I loved their chemistry. Almost all of the supporting actors are great, too. It's a nice sweet little romance, and it hit the spot for me.