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''Today's Special'' is a 2009 independent comedy film loosely inspired by Aasif Mandvi's play, ''Sakina's Restaurant''. The film was directed by David Kaplan. The script was adapted by
Aasif Mandvi Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the ...
and Jonathan Bines, and stars Mandvi,
Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-British-American actress, food and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the western hemisphere with her debut cookbook, ...
,
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
actor
Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...
,
Jess Weixler Jess Weixler (born ) is an American actress. She played Dawn O'Keefe in the comedy-horror film ''Teeth'' and Jordan in the comedy ''The Big Bad Swim''. Early life Weixler graduated in 1999 from Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, wh ...
,
Harish Patel Harish Patel (born 5 July 1953) is an Indian character actor. He has appeared in a variety of Hindi films, but in recent years has begun to appear in American projects like reimagination of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' on Hulu. His latest pr ...
,
Kevin Corrigan Kevin Corrigan (born ) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances include support ...
,
Dean Winters Dean Gerard Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ryan O'Reily on the HBO prison drama ''Oz (TV series), Oz'' and had roles in TV series'' Rescue Me (U.S. TV series), Rescue Me'', ''30 Rock'', ''Sex and th ...
, and
Ajay Naidu Ajay Kalahastri Naidu (born February 12, 1972) is an American actor best known for playing Samir in ''Office Space''. Naidu was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film ''SubUrbia''. Ear ...
. The film was developed and produced by Nimitt Mankad of Inimitable Pictures, and Lillian LaSalle of Sweet 180. The film premiered at the
London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...
on October 16, 2009. In the United States, it was the opening film of the MIAAC Film Festival (Mahindra Indo American Arts Festival), at the Paris Theater in New York City. It played at the
Mumbai Film Festival The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) is a public trust that organises the annual international film festival in Mumbai famously known as the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Actor, producer and author Priyanka Chopra Jonas is the Chairperson ...
. At the
Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...
on January 15, 2010, it won "Best of the Fest." It was also the Opening Night film at the
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every March in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asia ...
on March 11, 2010.


Plot

Samir (
Aasif Mandvi Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the ...
), a
sous chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command in a kitchen; the person ranking next after the head chef, usually the more hands on manager with regards to training staff and organising the kitchen. Duties and functions The sous-chef has many re ...
at an upscale New York restaurant, gets frustrated with his boss (
Dean Winters Dean Gerard Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ryan O'Reily on the HBO prison drama ''Oz (TV series), Oz'' and had roles in TV series'' Rescue Me (U.S. TV series), Rescue Me'', ''30 Rock'', ''Sex and th ...
) and quits after being passed over for a head chef position. His dreams of studying French cuisine in France are shattered after his father becomes ill and he must take over his family's Indian restaurant, Tandoori Palace in
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
. The restaurant has two chefs who don't know what they're doing, an old-fashioned wall and faltering income since the only customers are Samir's uncles sitting at a table playing cards. Samir doesn't know what to do because his knowledge of Indian cooking is limited until he meets the larger-than-life gourmet chef and taxi driver Akbar (
Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...
). Samir's world is transformed via Akbar's cooking lessons, the magic of the masala and a beautiful co-worker, Carrie (
Jess Weixler Jess Weixler (born ) is an American actress. She played Dawn O'Keefe in the comedy-horror film ''Teeth'' and Jordan in the comedy ''The Big Bad Swim''. Early life Weixler graduated in 1999 from Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, wh ...
). Meanwhile, his mother (
Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-British-American actress, food and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the western hemisphere with her debut cookbook, ...
) tries to get him to settle down with a nice Indian girl and his father, Hakkim (
Harish Patel Harish Patel (born 5 July 1953) is an Indian character actor. He has appeared in a variety of Hindi films, but in recent years has begun to appear in American projects like reimagination of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' on Hulu. His latest pr ...
) is convinced he will amount to nothing. Samir, Akbar and the kitchen staff first update the restaurant's look. Then with Akbar's eccentric help, they concoct the most magical and mouthwatering dishes in what soon becomes the best little Indian restaurant in New York with booming business. However, Akbar moves to
Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...
and it is up to Samir to run the restaurant. Meanwhile, Hakkim plans to sell the restaurant. Samir, along with help from his uncles and Carrie, improves business at the restaurant. Eventually, Hakkim calls off the deal and the movie ends with Hakkim hugging Samir.


Cast

*
Aasif Mandvi Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the ...
as Samir *
Dean Winters Dean Gerard Winters (born July 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ryan O'Reily on the HBO prison drama ''Oz (TV series), Oz'' and had roles in TV series'' Rescue Me (U.S. TV series), Rescue Me'', ''30 Rock'', ''Sex and th ...
as Steve *
Kevin Corrigan Kevin Corrigan (born ) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances include support ...
as Stanton *
Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare A ...
as Akbar *
Jess Weixler Jess Weixler (born ) is an American actress. She played Dawn O'Keefe in the comedy-horror film ''Teeth'' and Jordan in the comedy ''The Big Bad Swim''. Early life Weixler graduated in 1999 from Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, wh ...
as Carrie *
Ajay Naidu Ajay Kalahastri Naidu (born February 12, 1972) is an American actor best known for playing Samir in ''Office Space''. Naidu was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film ''SubUrbia''. Ear ...
as Munnamia * Kevin Breznahan as Freddie *
Harish Patel Harish Patel (born 5 July 1953) is an Indian character actor. He has appeared in a variety of Hindi films, but in recent years has begun to appear in American projects like reimagination of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' on Hulu. His latest pr ...
as Hakim *
Amir Arison Amir Arison (born March 24, 1978) is an American actor, best known for his work as FBI tech expert Aram Mojtabai on NBC’s ''The Blacklist'' for nine seasons. Early life and education Arison was born in Saint Louis, MO to father Ron Arison, ...
as Dr. Semaan *
Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-British-American actress, food and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the western hemisphere with her debut cookbook, ...
as Farrida *
Ranjit Chowdhry Ranjit Chowdhry (19 September 1955 – 15 April 2020) was an Indian character actor, known for his roles in television, movies, and theatre. He appeared in two episodes of ''The Office'', as Vikram, a telemarketer who worked with Michael, and w ...
as Regular #1 * Kumar Pallana as Regular #2


Awards

* Best of the Fest Award at the 2010
Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...
*
Aasif Mandvi Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the ...
- Best Actor Award at the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival


References


External links

* {{IMDb title, 1153053, Today's Special 2009 films 2009 comedy films American comedy films Films about Indian Americans Films set in New York City American independent films Cooking films 2009 independent films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films