''Nina's Heavenly Delights'' is a 2006 British

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

romance

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

, directed by Pratibha Parmar. The film was released on 29 September 2006 in the United Kingdom, and on 21 November 2007 in the United States.

Synopsis

When young Glaswegian cook Nina Shah (

Shelley Conn Shelley Deborah Conn (born 21 September 1976) is an English actress. She portrayed Lady Mary Sharma in the second season of ''Bridgerton'', Isabella in the film '' Love Sarah'', Dr Elizabeth Shannon in the Spielberg series '' Terra Nova'', Beelz ...

) returns home for her father's funeral after three estranged years in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, she begins a romantic relationship with Lisa (

Laura Fraser Laura Fraser (born 24 July 1975) is a Scottish actress. She has played Door in the urban fantasy series ''Neverwhere'' (1996), Kate in the film '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001), Cat MacKenzie in the BBC Three drama series '' Lip Service'' (2010–20 ...

), an old childhood friend who now owns half the late father's Indian restaurant, The New Taj. Together they seek to save the restaurant by winning the national "Best in the West Curry Competition" for a third time. Nina's mother Suman (Veena Sood) and brother Kary ( Atta Yaqub), however, want to sell the place to fellow restaurateur Raj (

Art Malik Athar ul-Haque Malik (; born 13 November 1952), known as Art Malik, is a Pakistani-British actor. He achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and supporting roles in assorted British television serials and films. His break ...

), whose chef son Sanjay (

Raji James Rajesh Kumar Jhanji (born 24 February 1970), known professionally as Raji James, is a British actor, known for his roles as Ash Ferreira in ''EastEnders'', DS Vik Singh in ''The Bill'' and Ali Shahzad in ''Hollyoaks''. He also played Abdul Kh ...

) had been left at the altar by Nina. Lending the young women moral support is Nina's flamboyant gay friend Bobbi (

Ronny Jhutti Ronny Jhutti (born Ajay Dhutti, 1973) is a British actor, most notable for his role as Sohail Karim in ''EastEnders'', Danny Bartock in two episodes of ''Doctor Who'' and Naz Omar in '' Vexed''. Early life Ronny was raised in London, where he wa ...

), and Nina's younger sister Priya (Zoe Henretty).

Cast

as Nina Shah *

as Lisa *

as Raj *

as Bobbi * Veena Sood as Suman Shah * Atta Yaqub as Kary Shah * Zoe Henretty as Priya Shah *

as Sanjay * Elaine C. Smith as Auntie Mamie * Rita Wolf as Auntie Tumi * Kathleen McDermott as Janice *

Kulvinder Ghir Kulvinder Ghir is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is best known as one of the cast members in the sketch show '' Goodness Gracious Me'' (1998–2015). He is also known for playing Aslam in the Yorkshire-based film '' Rita, Sue and Bob ...

as TV host * Tariq Mullan as Ravi * Francisco Bosch as Shriv

Critical reception

The film gained mostly negative reviews, and received 16% on the critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also a commercial flop. The film only made $267 on its opening week in the US and Canada. It grossed $50,171 worldwide.

AfterEllen ''AfterEllen'' is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifestyle issues from a feminis ...

said "showcasing a positive lesbian relationship while avoiding some of the typical queer film catch traps is where ''Nina’s Heavenly Delights ''succeeds....If we’re measuring ingredients by heart, this one is just right."

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

said, "Diluted by menu pornography and cringeworthy dance routines, ... the movie's central romance barely qualifies as such. 'It's all about chemistry,' Nina says. Too bad she and her co-star possess so little." Producer Chris Atkins said it was "the worst film that I or anyone else has produced". He used the film as an example to criticise the now defunct

UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...

. He said the film "ticked all the boxes" and, as a result, was granted £250,000 by the Film Council via Scottish Screen. Atkins said it was a "waste of public money". This was somewhat ironic as, in July 2016, Atkins was jailed for five years for defrauding HMRC in a film-finance tax scam.

Awards

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack includes the

Shelly Poole Michelle Lena "Shelly" Poole (born 20 March 1972) is an English songwriter and singer. Career Shelly Poole is the daughter of the 1960s recording artist Brian Poole, of Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. With her sister Karen, she formed the band ...

's song "Lost in You" and " Maybe That's What It Takes" by Alex Parks.

References

External links

UK official site

US official site
* * *

a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nina's Heavenly Delights 2006 films 2006 romantic comedy-drama films British romantic comedy-drama films British Indian films British LGBTQ-related films Lesbian-related films Films set in Glasgow Films shot in Glasgow Cooking films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films 2006 LGBTQ-related films LGBTQ-related romantic comedy-drama films English-language romantic comedy-drama films