Dining with the Kapoors review: The Kapoor Khaandaan unites for their love for food and the legacy their grandfather left behind!

The first family of Bollywood gives us a glimpse into their iconic ‘Kapoor lunch’ and it is ‘K’haotic in the best way!

Dining with the Kapoors review: The Kapoor Khaandaan has been a part of Bollywood for the past 100 years now. It is probably one of those rare families where every generation so far has contributed to cinema in one way or another. Hence the hype and peak of interest around them by the public is justified given that probably each generation of our own families has been a Kapoor fan since ages! My dadi is a huge Raj Kapoor fan, not just because of his movies but because of their shared connection to Chembur. My parents spent a huge part of their adolescence watching Rishi Kapoor movies and my brother and I grew up obsessing over Kareena Kapoor Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. It’s like an entire nation has grown up with the royal family of Bollywood and has a plethora of anecdotes attached to each one of them. So when you hear that the entire extended family is going to be seen under one roof on camera, you’re rather intrigued to know what it’s all about!

If you’re going into Dining with the Kapoors expecting ‘Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’ kind of ‘gup’ and drama then you’re going to be disappointed. Because this isn’t a dinner table discussing the scandals of Bollywood, rather, it's a wholesome family re-union on the occasion of their grandfather, Raj Kapoor’s 100th birthday. Directed by Smrithi Mundhra and created by Armaan Jain, the one hour documentary takes us through various memories of the Kapoor family with Raj Kapoor and their immense love for food. Even though we’re not a part of this family, it’s no secret that the Kapoors love to eat and one of their very own decides to host the entire family on the auspicious day of their late grandfather’s birthday. One would think that having Kareena Kapoor Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan on the same table would make them the real protagonists of the documentary but it’s truly the Kapoors' classic dishes and the Deonar Cottage memories they cannot stop talking about. 

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The entire family talks about how Raj Kapoor was the greatest showman alive and how his parties back in the 50s were the talk of the town. The vintage pictures that are shown throughout feel no less than a stylish retro Hollywood film where you envy everything from the clothes to the vibes. No matter what the discussion was, it all came down to food for Raj Kapoor and this is something he has passed on to his entire family along with his acting DNA. Even the younger generation members like Navya Nanda, Zahaan Kapoor and Shaira Kapoor were present at the table and while Agastya Nanda wasn’t a part of the lunch, he marked his presence through the interviews. The family also played a quiz called ‘Kaunsa Kapoor?’ and also went around the table sharing their favourite dish made by their dadi, Krishna Kapoor. Each member of the Kapoor family has a certain kind of uniqueness to them and the youngest of the siblings aka Aadar Jain narrates that in his speech humourously. That's when you know even if the internet has multiple opinions and headlines on the Kapoor family, whether you hate them or love them, you definitely cannot ignore them!

As Rima Jain and Randhir Kapoor, reminisce about their days in their famous Chembur house and look through pictures that tell stories of a lifetime and as all his grandchildren talk about how their dadaji used to ask them to line up to get toffees on a Sunday, you really understand Raj Kapoor and the impact he has had on the people around him. While commoners like us would assume there would be nothing relatable to the Kapoor family, just then we see the whole table go chaotic over their Brun Pav, Mutton Keema, Junglee Mutton and Truffle Dal (something I’d love to try). You feel, at the end of the day, their banter and silly jokes with one another is the kind of camaraderie we’d see in any Indian family!

Having said that, the editing between the conversations could have been much better to make it seem more authentic and seamless. The duration of the documentary also could have been a bit longer, but maybe that’s just my greed for a possible glimpse of Alia Bhatt talking! Overall, Dining with the Kapoors is a sweet addition to OTT’s rise of filmmaker documentaries with The Roshans, The Romantics and Angry Young Men where the who's who of the film industry go way back to how it all started!

Dining with the Kapoors is currently streaming on Netflix!

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