Paresh C Palicha feels Spanish Masala ismore like a promotional video for Spanish Tourism than a film.With the world turning into a global village, no cuisine has remained indigenous. There is experimentation with every kind of food and there is likewise enough material for a storyteller to use this as the kernel for a story, as screenwriter Benny P Nayarambalam and director Lal Jose have done in Spanish Masala, which also features their favourite actor Dileep
Alas, the result is stale and bland, with little of the masala promised in the title.
In the initial stages of the film, maximum advantage is taken of Dileep's mimicry background and his image as a comedian.
The story is about Charlie (Dileep), who goes to Spain along with a mimicry troupe but stays back illegally to make a fortune there. Some humour is derived from the fact that he is conversant only in Malayalam.
He gets a job as a cook in an Indian restaurant run by a Malayali, as he has some experience in running a roadside eatery in his homeland. In the restaurant, he has the task of serving up various varieties of dosas and comes up with a local variant named Spanish Masala, which turns out to be his passport to employment in the home of an ex-diplomat
who has served in India.
The diplomat's daughter Camilla (Daniela Zacherl), who is visually impaired, is addicted to the aroma of Spanish Masala. She is not on talking terms with her father who is believed to have killed her Indian lover Rahul (Kunchako Boban) who was the son of her Malayali nanny.
As expected, the cook becomes instrumental in clearing the misunderstanding between the father and the daughter and making the family a happier unit.
Love follows as Charlie mimics Rahul thereby making Camilla relive the memories of her lover.
The storyline is stale and predictable depending only on Dileep's buffoonery to hold our attention. There is not even a strand of freshness here. It looks more like a promotional video for Spanish tourism directed Lal Jose.
Apart from Dileep, nobody else gets an opportunity to grab our attention. The Austrian beauty Daniela Zacherl is just a mannequin. Biju Menon as the brooding caretaker of the diplomat's household has nothing much to do performance wise.
Rediff Rating:
