In Sree Dhanya Catering Service, much of the screen space is taken up by men. Yet, this is not just a movie about men and their bonding, or their ego-fuelled altercations, although that is what you get to see on screen mostly. The subtext conveys something else. What lies beneath is the suppressed disappointment of the woman who has to ask for permission from her husband to take a trip with her mates from the neighbourhood kudumbashree group (which he denies), with the script contrasting it to the ease with which a younger woman from the current generation embarks on a solo trip on her motorcycle.
Quite a few parallels can be drawn from the movie to director Jeo Baby’s most celebrated work yet, The Great Indian Kitchen. Right on top is the fact that much of the movie revolves around the act of cooking. Shino (Prasanth Murali), the owner of a struggling catering unit, decides to cook biriyani for the entire neighbourhood on his child’s first birthday. His wife (Beena) is not very keen on the idea, especially considering their financial situation, but his friends are enthused by the plan, thinking of the possibilities of a men’s-only booze party on the night of the biriyani preparation. His friend Sibi (Jeo Baby), who was adamant against his wife going on a trip, promptly sends her and their teenage daughter to their ancestral home, so that he could host all the men.
