Saif Ali Khan will star in the Hindi remake of the 2014 Hollywood film Chef.
Chef tells the story of Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) who quits his job at a popular Los Angeles restaurant after refusing to compromise his creative integrity to its controlling owner. As he tries to figure out his next move, he finds himself in his hometown, Miami, where he teams up with his ex-wife, friend and son to launch a food truck. Taking to the road, Chef Carl goes back to his roots to reignite his passion for the kitchen and his zest for life and love. What follows is an endearing journey of relationships, self-discovery and success.
Written, produced and directed by Jon Favreau, the film features a famous supporting cast, including Robert Downey Jr., Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson and Dustin Hoffman, amongst others.
Vikram Malhotra and Ridhima Lulla of Eros International made the formal announcement with Jon Favreau in Los Angeles on October 26th. Earlier this year, Abundantia Entertainment acquired the remake rights from Favreau’s company, Fairview Entertainment, and went on to partner with India’s leading film studio Eros International. The Hindi version will be distributed and released by Eros worldwide.
Jon Favreau shot to fame with the 1996-film, Swingers and since then has had a long and distinguished career in Hollywood. Amongst his vast of range of films, Favreau has directed Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Elf among others and has been the executive producer on Iron Man 3 and Marvel’s Avengers franchise. Speaking on his passion project going global, he said,
“I’m delighted to see Chef get an Indian remake. I'm excited to see how this personal film translates to the Indian culture. The themes of food, music and family should resonate well.”
Terming Chef as one of the most endearing and inspiring films of recent times, Vikram Malhotra, Founder & CEO of Abundantia, said,
“Ever since I first saw Chef I knew that this film had to be made in India. Charming relationships, a feel-good story and a unique journey of self-discovery make Chef the ideal film to bring alive in an Indian context. Add to that the blazing spirit of entrepreneurship and the rapidly evolving food scene in India and the context for a Hindi remake is brilliantly set. We are proud and honored that an icon of Hollywood like Jon Favreau has chosen us to take forward his passion-project in another part of the world. I am also delighted that one of the finest actors in our country, Saif Ali Khan, will helm the title role in the Hindi version.”
An excellent choice for the Indian adaptation of Favreau's story, actor Saif Ali Khan has previously starred in several slice-of-life comedy dramas including Cocktail (2012), Love Aaj Kal (2009), Salaam Namaste (2005), Hum Tum (2004), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2004), and Dil Chahta Hai (2001).
Partnering on the project, Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd added,
“Eros has been at the forefront of breaking content barriers and taking Indian movies worldwide. Be it our global blockbusters like English Vinglish, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Bajrangi Bhaijaan or our upcoming line-up like Bajirao Mastani, we are keenly focused in making content speak a universal language. We are delighted to bring a special film like Chef to the Indian audience in their own language and look forward to working closely to make Chef connect to millions of movie-goers in the Hindi language.
The work on the Hindi remake has begun and a script that will adapt the Chef story to the Indian palate, keeping the flavor of the film intact, is already underway.