From left, Om Puri as Papa, Manish Dayal as Hassan and Helen Mirren as Madame Mallory in a scene from The Hundred-Foot Journey. Francois Duhamel / DreamWorks / AP Photo
From left, Om Puri as Papa, Manish Dayal as Hassan and Helen Mirren as Madame Mallory in a scene from The Hundred-Foot Journey. Francois Duhamel / DreamWorks / AP Photo

Film review: From Bombay to Paris: The Hundred-Foot Journey

Associated Press

August 27, 2014

From Bombay to Paris: The Hundred-Foot Journey

Director: Lasse Hallström

Starring: Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Charlotte Le Bon

Three stars

What is it about recent food movies – Jon Favreau's Chef, and now Lasse Hallström's From Bombay to Paris: The Hundred-Foot Journey – that, despite their virtues, are made so corny, with everything tied up in a feel-good bow?

That's not to say there isn't a lot going for Journey, which is an adaptation of the Richard Morais novel, notably, it has Helen Mirren and the entertaining Indian actor Om Puri. Plus, the film's script is by the talented Steven Knight and there's a score by the Oscar-winner A R Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire). Oh, and it's produced by Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg.

Given all these lovely ingredients, the final product still ends up bland and reductive. A couple of scenes feel borrowed from one of most original food movies – the animated Ratatouille.

The story begins in India, with the food-loving Kadam family. During a night of political unrest, their restaurant is torched. On losing everything, they end up in France, in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val. The family patriarch Papa (Puri) decides it’s where they’ll open their new restaurant, Maison Mumbai.

The problem? Just 100 feet away is the Michelin-starred Le Saule Pleureur, run by the prickly Madame Mallory.

We instantly know the movie’s main plot development will be the mellowing of Mallory. Meanwhile, Hassan (Dayal) becomes enamoured of French cooking, helped along by Mallory’s sous-chef Marguerite (Le Bon).

Mallory, recognising Hassan’s talent, asks him to join her. His talent takes him to Paris, where he becomes the chef of a flashy restaurant. But is he truly happy? Can he forget the quaint pleasures of the village where he started, or the gorgeous Marguerite?

For answers, you’ll have to see the film and while it will be a pleasurable two hours it will be lacking, cinematically, in a key ingredient that Hassan knows a lot about – a little spice.

* AP

ESSENTIALS

The flights 
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes. 
Where to stay 
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.

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Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.

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3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible. 

4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key. 

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Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

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Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

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3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

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Huddersfield Town permanent signings:

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