BOTTOM LINE
Generic Culinary Drama, Neat Execution
PLATFORM
JioHotstar
RUNTIME
120 Mins (4 Episodes)
What Is the Show About?
Vetri is a playful, small-town guy looking for a break, but his job at RR Resort is a nightmare. He earns the wrath of Nedumaran, a high-strung head chef who runs the kitchen like a dictator. After making some petty mistakes and landing his coworkers in trouble, Vetri works part-time at a local food stall by night. Soon, he steals the chef’s secret soup recipe and sells it on the street. Now, he is in serious trouble.
Performances
Eruma Saani-fame Vijay Kumar Rajendran is at home playing a culinary enthusiast who is forced into odd jobs to repay his family debt. The former YouTuber has good screen presence and scores well with his situational humour, sharing a warm chemistry with Amar Keerthi.
Thalaivaasal Vijay’s experience is evident in his performance as an unlikable chef, though the characterisation is slightly exaggerated at times. Abeneya Nethrun is decent in the brief portions she bags, though she may have a better contribution to make in the coming episodes.
Analysis
Resort, the Tamil show streaming on JioHotstar, directed by small-screen expert Praveen Bennet, is tailor-made for the digital medium: grounded, accessible and popcorn-worthy. It sticks to telling a believable story, without simply bludgeoning a viewer with forced plot twists or eccentric actions of the characters to garner attention. The setting is compact, fresh, and the execution is neat.
The first four episodes, true to the title, unfold in and around a resort, which pits a new, small-time employee, Vetri, against a temperamental chef, Nedumaran. The story takes you through the macro and micro details that affect their lives. If the rookie Vetri has loans to pay, a family to guard and a passion to cook, the veteran Nedumaran is possessive about his kitchen, seeking everything to be spick and span.
Vetri has money-lenders threatening to upend his existence now and then, but he handles the touchy scenario with poise. He quickly develops a sound rapport with his colleagues and inevitably finds himself entangled in itchy situations. To ease his financial crunch, he works part-time at a local food stall by night. His heart lies in food, though his superiors force him to stick to his duty as support staff.
On the other end is Nedumaran, whose hellish ways in the kitchen instil fear among his subordinates (including his daughter). He responds furiously to allegations about overspending on the inventory and cannot tolerate difference of opinion. Vetri is witness to the harsh punishments of his team and feels sympathetic towards the chef’s daughter. When Vetri tastes the former’s exclusive soup and replicates it, he invites trouble.
Resort works because it is sincere in trying to capture the complete picture of its backdrop: the harsh realities of the back-end staff, and also their superiors, who are the face of the business. It mirrors instances of troublesome guests, playful banter among colleagues, glimpses from tense work meetings about profit margins, the power hierarchies and the general issues plaguing any workplace.
The tension in the show peaks in the fourth episode, where the battle lines are drawn, Vetri’s enthusiasm gets the better of him, stealing Nedumaran’s soup recipe and putting it up for sale at the food stall he works in. By the end, the viewers get a reasonable idea of what the characters stand for, their egos and their vulnerabilities, offering a good reason for them to return for the next episode in the coming week.
At times, the show goes overboard in picturing Nedumaran as a boss everyone would love to hate; the characterisation is slightly hard to digest. Meanwhile, Vetri is conveniently the opposite: vulnerable, playful and approachable.
The four episodes of Resort precisely set the ground ready for the drama to marinate over the coming weeks. There is nothing overwhelmingly new about the story, clash and the drama, yet it is perfectly suited for timepass, inoffensive viewing, a bare minimum that we do not get to experience lately.
Music and Other Departments?
Kaushik Krish’s score is like a snappy, satiating snack that complements the show and sustains the mood of the scenes well, adding believability to the execution. The cinematography, by Vijay Krish, makes efficient use of the picturesque resort setting. The editing is neat, building various layers of the story organically.
Highlights?
Ideal for timepass viewing
Neat writing, conflict
Believable characters, backdrop
Drawbacks?
Slightly slow to gain momentum
The exaggerated characterisation of Nedumaran
Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of story
Did I Enjoy It?
Generally, yes. Ideal for timepass viewing
Will You Recommend It?
If you don’t mind a conventional yet grounded culinary drama
Resort Web Series Review by M9 News
