Vanilla, Strawberry & Chocolate review: This concoction leaves a bitter aftertaste

First-time director Girish Vishvanath’s Vanilla, Strawberry & Chocolate has nothing to do with ice-cream or flavours. The film is about a dog named Vanilla. I won't tell you what the other two are because that would totally ruin it for those of you who want to watch the film even after reading this review.

Having a pet as one of the main characters in a movie provides plenty of scope for emotional touches and Girish Vishvanath does not shy away from doing so. One film that did this successfully was the Jackie Shroff starrer Teri Meherbaniyan (1985). Akshay Kumar’s Entertainment (2014) is a more recent example.

Vanilla, Strawberry & Chocolate is based in Matheran, the peaceful hill station about 80 km from Mumbai. Tejashree Pawar aka Teju (Janaki Pathak) is a Std X student. She lives with her father, who provides horses for tourists, mother (Rajashri Nikam) and younger brother. Teju’s best friend is the dog Vanilla, who loiters around her school. The animal is just as fond of her.

Teju wants to take Vanilla into her family but her parents are opposed to the idea. What saddens her is that this is her last year in school. How will she meet Vanilla once she passes out of the institution?

Suddenly, Teju is faced with a far more serious problem when officials of the local village council begin a drive to round up stray dogs in the area. How will she protect her beloved Vanilla?

The opening credits of Vanilla, Strawberry & Chocolate glorify Matheran and its people and appears more like a snippet from a travel show than part of a feature film. You don’t mind this, however, as the poetic descriptions and visuals make you long to visit the place.

However, though the film is based in Matheran, the makers have hardly cared to explore its beautiful landscapes. If they had done that, maybe the audience would have taken something home from the film. As it stands, the film suffers from lack of a proper plot.

The film's runtime of 120 minutes can be divided into two parts. The first part sees the conflict between Tejashree and her parents about keeping a pet dog. Just as you are thinking that maybe this is the plot of the film, the conflict is resolved.

The filmmaker then introduces an emotional mystery angle. This is when it becomes difficult to sit through the film because the narrative just drags. Worse,  the mystery is revealed in the title itself.

The light-hearted conversations and ‘humorous’ situations used as fillers are anything but entertaining. For example, the forced subplot of Tejashree’s school friend Godambe’s crush on her is used for comic relief but it is actually irritating.

The film also has a couple of glaring flaws. We are told that Tejashree’s older sister’s husband is well educated. But he is later shown selling vegetables. And a doctor who treats petty illnesses like a fever also doubles up as a gynaecologist!

The cinematography lacks creativity while loud sounds are mostly used as a background score. The songs are forgettable.

Newcomer Janaki Pathak certainly has the potential and the confidence. She deserved better handling. For instance, the director could have got her to go easy on the loudness.

Ravi Kale gives a mature performance as a concerned father. Rajashri Nikam isn’t bad either, but you have to really tax your imagination to think of her as a poor woman.

The needless usage of poor English by Radhika Deshpande as Tejashree’s older sister hurts her character. The actor playing her younger brother is all right.

Unfortunately, the poor content leaves you with a bitter aftertaste.