The film's principal photography began in October 2016 in Kochi.[5][6]Chef was released on 6 October 2017.[7] The film under-performed at the box office.[8]
Plot
Roshan Kalra (Saif Ali Khan) is a chef whose passion for his career supersedes everything else in his life, including his family. He lives away from his wife Radha Menon (Padmapriya) and son Aari (Svar Kamble). He decides to visit his son in Cochin and they have a good time together. When it is time to return to work, he reflects he has lost out on a lot of time with Aari. He decides to stay with his son and open a food truck, which serves both his purposes in life: cooking food and being with his son.
The film's original songs and musical score were composed by Raghu Dixit. The song "Tere Mere" and its reprise were composed by guest composer Amaal Mallik. The lyrics were written by Ankur Tewari and Rashmi Virag. The first song of the film, "Shugal Laga Le", was composed and sung by Raghu Dixit and was released on 6 September 2017. The second song, "Tere Mere", sung by Armaan Malik, was released on 11 September 2017. The third song, "Banjara", which is sung by Vishal Dadlani, was released on 18 September 2017. The soundtrack was released on 31 August 2017 by T-Series.
Raja Sen of NDTV gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5, saying that, "Saif Ali Khan and the actors try hard, but lazy writing and direction make Chef a flavourless and bland meal".[9] Meena Iyer of The Times of India praised the performance of the lead actor Saif Ali Khan and gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5, saying that, "Chef is predictable in parts, the journey is an enjoyable one."[10] Sweta Kaushal of the Hindustan Times rated the film 1.5 out of 5 and said that, "Saif Ali Khan's Chef offers moments of brilliance which, if weaved in a more organised manner, may have given us a light, affable film. But a lazy and rather uninterested narrative takes away the pleasure."[11]
Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and said that, "In a premise begging for food porn, there's a shocking scarcity of sensory pleasure or vision. Chef is too dull to be delicious."[12] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated it 2 out of 5 and said that, "Saif Ali Khan's film has some interesting flavours. But Chef feels derivative, and is a late coming of age tale of Peter-Pan-like adults. And that's got to do with the uneven writing. It is a good-looking film, with good-looking people only."[13]Rajeev Masand awarded the film 2.5 out of 5, saying that, "Chef isn't perfect; it lags in places, offers quick-fix solutions to characters’ problems, and feels wholly familiar. But at a little over two hours, it doesn't ask much of you, and offers some pleasure in Saif Ali Khan's return to form as an actor hard to look away from."[14]
