Gowdru Hotel

Gowdru Hotel is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language drama directed by Pon Kumaran and starring Rachan Chandra, Vedhika and Prakash Raj. The film is a Remake of the Malayalam film Ustad Hotel (2012).^[1]

Plot[]

Abdul Razaq and Fareeda, a Muslim couple in Kerala, are expecting their first child. Razaq wants the child to be a boy and wants to name the child Faizal and call him Faizi. To his disappointment, the child is a girl. Fareeda gives birth to three more girls, which irritates Abdul Razaq, who migrates to Dubai. Finally, Fareeda gives birth to a boy but, because of her many deliveries, Fareeda becomes ill and dies. Abdul Razaq takes his five children to Dubai. Faizi is looked after by his sisters whom he affectionately calls "Ithathas & Company" (Sisters and Company).

As Faizi grows up, his sisters get married one by one, and his father marries for a second time. Faizi hopes to be a chef, much against his father's aspirations. Faizi goes to Switzerland to study hotel management at the University of Lausanne. When he returns with much fanfare after the course, it is revealed that he has secretly studied to become a chef and not hotel management. This shatters Razaq's dream of opening a five-star hotel in his hometown (Kozhikode) and costs Faizi a marriage proposal from a wealthy family. Razaq had wanted Faizi to marry a close friend and business tycoon's daughter Shahana.

Angered by the humiliation (since being a chef is equated with a job of less dignity in most of India), Razaq virtually disowns Faizi and takes custody of his passport and credit cards so that Faizi cannot go to London, where he has a job as a sous chef at The Ivy restaurant. In anger, Faizi travels to Kozhikode to join his grandfather Kareem who is affectionately called "Kareem Ikka" locally. Kareem has been managing Ustad Hotel (named by local people since Ustad means master in Malayalam) for the last 35 years.

Faizi is in Kozhikode longer than he had anticipated. During his stay with his grandfather, Faizi gets involved in the daily activities of Ustad Hotel. He strikes friendships with the members of the band "Kallumakkayees" (mussels). During a gig, the band invites Faizi and he notices that the lead singer of the band is Shahana, who is pursuing singing secretly. The gig becomes a hit, and in the end, Faizi asks Shahana if she needs a ride, though initially, reluctant to go with him she agrees as she needs to get home before her family realizes. Shahana bonds with Faizi and tells him that "today is the last day of my freedom" as she is getting engaged.

A five-star hotel named "Beach Bay" next door wants to acquire the land on which Ustad Hotel stands. Kareem having incurred lakhs in debt was at the mercy of his bank which was conspiring to seize the restaurant and give the property to the five-star hotel. Faizi tells the owner of the Beach Bay that he will not allow him to take over Ustad Hotel's property. The owner then bribes the local health department and gets Ustad Hotel closed down because of unhygienic conditions.

Faizi collects money from the employees and renovates the hotel. Shahana, too, has realized the futility of her family's orthodox nature and comes calling. She joins Faizi and they reopen the restaurant, which becomes very successful, enabling them to clear the debts. Faizi then receives a new job offer to work as an executive chef in a restaurant in Marseille, France.

When he breaks this news to his grandfather, Kareem has a heart attack and is hospitalized. At the hospital, Kareem asks Faizi to visit his friend Narayanan Krishnan in Madurai, whom Kareem had been funding to feed the poor. On seeing how poor Indian people struggle for food, Faizi now understands the meaning of Kareem's words that "anyone can fill a stomach, but only a good cook can fill the heart as well". By the time Faizi comes back, Kareem decides to leave everything behind and go on a pilgrimage to the Sufi shrines in North India, his lifelong ambition. Faizi changes his mind and stays with Ustad Hotel. He marries Shahana, who helps him run the restaurant. Faizi's rich father changes his mind and supports the restaurant, making it a profitable one.

Cast[]

• Rachan Chandra as Rishi
• Vedhika as Rishi's girlfriend
• Prakash Raj as Rishi's grandfather
• Anant Nag
• Raj Deepak Shetty as CEO

Production[]

The film is a remake of the Malayalam film Ustad Hotel (2012) and features newcomer Rachan Chandra, Vedhika, and Prakash Raj in the lead roles.^[2][3][4][5] The film was adapted to suit the Kannada audience.^[6] The film was shorter than the Malyalam original.^[7] Anant Nag was cast to play a role in the film.^[8] While the Malayalam film featured biriyani, this film featured mudde.^[9]

Soundtrack[]

This film marks the Kannada debut of Tamil music composer Yuvan Shankar Raja.^[10][11][12]

Release[]

The Times of India gave the film a rating of two-and-a-half out of five stars and stated that "Go ahead, watch it if you want to check out an okay effort that is nearly salvaged in the second half".^[13]

References[]

External links[]

• Gowdru Hotel at IMDb

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