Nina's Heavenly Delights (2006)

20% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
65% of users liked it
(1,049 ratings)

A woman comes to terms with her sexuality while trying to save the family business in this flavorful romantic comedy. Nina Shah (Shelley Conn) is the daughter of an Indian expatriate family who settled in Glasgow and run an Indian restaurant, the New Taj Mahal. While Nina was always close to her… More A woman comes to terms with her sexuality while trying to save the family business in this flavorful romantic comedy. Nina Shah (Shelley Conn) is the daughter of an Indian expatriate family who settled in Glasgow and run an Indian restaurant, the New Taj Mahal. While Nina was always close to her father, when he insisted she wed a man she didn't love as part of an arranged marriage, she left Glasgow and began a new life in London. However, word of her father's passing brings her back to Glasgow to look after her mother and help run the New Taj. Nina learns that the restaurant is deep in debt and needs a sharp increase in business if it's to stay open; shortly before his death, her father arranged for the New Taj to take part in a televised cooking competition to find the best Indian food in Glasgow, and so Nina and the restaurant's head chef, Lisa (Laura Fraser), are on the spot to come up with something special. As Nina and Lisa spend many hours in the kitchen together, they begin to develop a personal relationship as spicy as anything on the menu. While Nina tries to decide how to explain her new romance to her family, she finds emotional support from her very out-of-the-closet friend, Bobbi (Ronny Jhutti), and her younger sister, who has developed a passion for Scottish folk dancing. But Nina's effort to save the New Taj may become a grudge match when she learns that her biggest competition comes from a new eatery run by Sanjay (Raji James), the man Nina refused to marry. Nina's Heavenly Delights also stars Art Malik as Sanjay's father. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Pratibha Parmar
Written By: Andrea Gibb
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Nov 21, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Apr 22, 2008
Studio: Regent Releasing/Magnolia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
Nina's Heavenly Delights hints at better-simmered versions of similar dishes.
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
A lightweight and sentimental exercise that succeeds at little except maybe inspiring the viewer to go out and find a decent curry.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
This combination of melodrama, comedy, music and romance eventually falls under the weight of its endlessly stereotypical characters, dialogue and situations.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
This movie's heart is in the right place, which is one way of saying it's terrible.
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
A cloying blend of Bollywood sentiment and Amélie whimsy, Nina's Heavenly Delights is a lesbian-foodie fairy tale that keeps its appetites well under control.
Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times
Making her feature debut after several documentaries, Parmar displays rookie jitters with excessive cutting and camera moves whose restlessness occasionally recalls Mumbai soap operas.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
offers high production values while telling a conventional tale with several moderately unexpected twists.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
Touches of magic realism indicate we are in an ideal world where love will, if not conquer everything, then pretty much hug it into submission.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
Latent lesbians 'Bend It Like Emeril' in formulaic female empowerment flick.
Maitland McDonagh, Time Out New York
Parmar's film is light and sweet, comfort food dressed up with a dash of exotic spice.
Rob Humanick, Slant Magazine
It's ironic how a film whose outcome depends on the difference between technical perfection and perceived, artistic greatness, would itself prove a slave to shallow screenplay mechanics deprived of nuance.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
You know a cross-cultural, gender-bending dramedy has issues, when its most memorable moment is a blasphemous, bouncy Bollywood musical finale featuring a female impersonator.
Jay Antani, Boxoffice Magazine
Parmar scores pleasant performances across the board...Yet the story is bland, like it's been over-workshopped in a screenwriting class, too polite and too smooth around the edges.
Geoff Berkshire, Metromix.com
The novelty value of an east meets west cultural dynamic isn't enough to disguise how late Nina's Heavenly Delights is to the celluloid coming out party.
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International
It's a lovely ideal, and the food dishes are photographed scrumptiously, but the whole thing comes off undercooked.
Jaspreet Pandohar, BBC
Like a dainty appetiser, Nina's Heavenly Delights tries but fails to fill you up.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
In her feature debut, filmmaker Pratibha Parmar falls back on every cliché she's supposedly trying to undermine.

Read all 17 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Anastasia B

I really loved Pratibha Parmar's work on "Nina's Heavenly Delights" and that's the reason I am so pissed off that there is rarely a chance for the character of a dyke to be realistically portrayed - or at least, believably enough for the gay audience to give… More
I really loved Pratibha Parmar's work on "Nina's Heavenly Delights" and that's the reason I am so pissed off that there is rarely a chance for the character of a dyke to be realistically portrayed - or at least, believably enough for the gay audience to give it a pass. Laura Fraser is cute, but why on earth can't we see a real dyke playing a dyke on screen? Are they so hard to find? That's alI I have to say on this. "Politiki Kouzina" for lesbians!
Leo L

Great movie!! Excellent story plot. This movie follows the life of Nina who has a special interest and talent in cuisine that was taught alongside her father. She comes home for her father's funeral and soon embarks upon new changes in life, especially discovering love. Great… More
Great movie!! Excellent story plot. This movie follows the life of Nina who has a special interest and talent in cuisine that was taught alongside her father. She comes home for her father's funeral and soon embarks upon new changes in life, especially discovering love. Great cast- Raji James, Shelley Conn, Laura Fraser, and Francisco Bosch. Fantastic music!! Definitely worthy.
Ina S

Very fun, very cute lesbian romance with a hint of Bollywood and lots of Scottish charme. The German audience at the Gay & Lesbian film festival was very, very thankful about the subtitles - Glasgow accent is always a challenge.