ChicRawIdol
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
Neive Bellamy
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Deanna
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Mere Humsafar
The film definitely conveys effectively the message it has intended to..It questions the society's cynicism of lesbianism.. Is the social stigma attached to lesbianism so fundamental that personal happiness has to be sacrificed, even though it does not harm any other individual, excepting for their beliefs.. A bond between two individuals have many facets, as have the personalities..The movie is well made..The main theme of lesbianism is dealt with at greater length than other LGBT relation, which have been lightly touched upon.. The story line is thin, but cute.. Photography and music are great.. Performance by Shelly Conn as Nina is very good.. Laura Fraser is beautiful ..Veena Sood as Suman ( Nina's mother)is really gorgeous and has given another great performance..Though the ensemble is predominantly Asian-connected, the movie is not narrowed to Asian culture, but handles broader and deeper issues , relevant to all societies, more so to the western society..
Roland E. Zwick
"Nina's Heavenly Delights" is actually more interesting for the milieu in which it's set - a community of Indian ex-pats living and thriving in Scotland - than for the story it has to tell.Nina (Shelley Conn) moved to London a few years back to escape an arranged marriage to a man she knew she could never learn to love. When her father dies unexpectedly, Nina returns to Glascow to help run the Indian restaurant he's owned and operated for decades. Her partner in the endeavor is Lisa (Laura Fraser), a close friend of the family whom Nina finds herself falling in love with, a fact that may not sit too well with her traditionalist family."Nina's Heavenly Delights" is definitely a mixed-bag when it comes to virtues and flaws. It's at its best in its quieter, more serious moments, as Nina engages in thoughtful discussions with her family members and her new-found love interest. But when it aims for a more lighthearted tone, the movie tends towards the coy and the cloying. The coming-out aspects of the tale are handled with delicacy and restraint, though the determinedly upbeat ending is a trifle on the implausible and unconvincing side, to put it mildly. The movie also suffers from a surfeit of soulful montage sequences and irrelevant musical interludes, a holdover from its Bollywood roots, no doubt (the movie may be British in origin but its Indian influence is undeniable). Moreover, the blending of gourmet cooking with magical realism feels too reminiscent of "Like Water for Chocolate" for total comfort.However, the performances are so authentic and the whole enterprise so well-meaning and upbeat that it's hard not to have positive feelings about the movie in the long run.
punchiauntie
Okay - the film is not some earth shattering piece of cinema, but I'm sure that was not the intention of the director. She has made a very gentle love story come to life without huge trauma. As a big cinema fan, I know it's not on a par with other slick films, but again, this doesn't appear to be the director's intention. I think it was brave to make a film that didn't fall into making stereotypes of Asians or gays (although a queer man doing drag is old hat) and the choice of very attractive leading ladies doesn't hurt either. Regarding the accents, there were four that wobbled for me. That of Nina's and her mother's, Sanjay and his father's, but that doesn't make it a bad film. They've done a darn sight better than us mortals could have done. So more power to your elbow Ms Parmar.
drmrinalini
Knowing the struggles that a lot Asians go through with coming out and their acceptance by their families, this movie is a breeze of fresh air. It is OK for parents to have preconceived ideas and hopes for their kids but a little bit of open mindedness can make everyone so happy! I watched this movie at the GLBT Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where this movie was selected to be screened on the closing night. Its a movie I can comfortably watch with my parents without making them uncomfortable also. I also got an opportunity to hang out with Ms. Parmar, the director of the movie, who I interviewed for a magazine. A very down-to-earth, real person, who has kinda lived the story.Kudos to Pratibha Parmar for giving me 2 hours of smiles and happiness through her movie!!
