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CAPITAL FOCUS AWARD Cooking With Stella
DILIP MEHTA
In English and Hindi with English subtitles Thursday'screening at the Embassy of Canada will be followed by a wine & cheese reception. ADVANCE SALES ONLY.
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Director Dilip Mehta's sly film takes us inside both the privileged world of Canadian diplomats in New Delhi and the more tenuous existence of the poor Indians who work for them. Stella (the charming Seema Biswas), the Canadian High Commission’s longtime housekeeper and chef, is initially delighted when assigned to new arrivals Maya and Michael and their baby. But she is shocked to realize that Maya (Lisa Ray) is the working diplomat and husband Michael (Don McKellar) will stay at home. Michael is also a chef and asks Stella to teach him her kitchen secrets. He never realizes how many more secrets she is hiding. Through clever kickbacks and small-scale pilfery, Stella manages to spread the Western wealth around. When the honest Tannu (Shriya Saran) is hired as a nanny, Stella’s various schemes are jeopardized and she must devise new ways to maintain the status quo. —Dave Nuttycombe
