The Chefs’ is about two ex-girlfriends who find themselves competing in a cooking competition. Their past is a big obstacle in this competition and the result is something nobody expects. I was considerably happy with the way ‘The Chefs’ performed well in film festivals. Having 3 awards under its bag, including the prestigious “California International Film Festival.
How did you get the idea for making this film?
I have always been a foodie and I have and still go to fancy restaurants all over the world wherever I go. From my childhood days, hearing or seeing a chef used to sound special and gave me a different feeling about their occupation. Once I was in a well-known diner in Beverly Hills and I witnessed a heat of the moment argument between the kitchen crew, not only me, but everyone that day must have also felt how hard the food industry is and I just thought what mental pressures they might be going through. So, I just made a story connecting the dots and mixing it with a pinch of drama and fiction in it, and guess what? I had a story in no time, but the next challenge was how I was going to make it.
What was the reason for hiring Gurdeep Singh Sidhu as Director of Photography?
I met Gurdeep through friends, he is passionate, and we can talk about movies for hours, and we also admire the same filmmakers and cinematographers. When I was developing the script for “The Chef”. There was no other name going through my mind other than Gurdeep. I have seen his work in Silent Noise, and his lighting skills in “The Silhouette of the Ghost”. It was exactly the kind of look I was going for. When I spoke to Gurdeep, we discussed the story for 6 hours and after meeting him, I was confident that he was the man for the job.
What were some of the challenges you faced while shooting this movie?
Behind the camera, the main challenge we faced was lighting the indoor set as it was supposed to be a low light tone for the film. Gurdeep made it possible with his lighting crew to give the perfect light for the screen with the experience he and his team had. Also, if I talk about in front of camera challenges it was showing the same character/actor together at the same time. I didn’t want to use the old technique of shooting different scenes by making the actors move cut and then merge the two videos with actors on a different side of the screen which was old-school and common.
What would be some of the highlights you would like to share while making “The Chefs”?
I think the journey of making the film was amazing. I remember when we first started shooting scenes for the double role screen time and when we were able to pull it off smoothly and how everyone’s hard work paid off was seen on their happy faces. Also, before shooting started when I was pitching my story to people to gather the funds I needed but got rejection multiple times. Some people applauded at the screening of dailies of the film saying we missed the chance before the release. And the best part was the movie got screened, “The Warner Bros Theatre”. My whole family flew from India to see the movie, I can see the pride in my father’s eyes.
