Rating
2.5/5
Cast:
Esha
Deol,
Tarun
Malhotra,
Anindita
Bose
Director:
Ram
Kamal
Mukherjee
The
premise
of
Cakewalk
is
nothing
out
of
the
ordinary.
A
woman,
presumably,
in
her
30s,
found
to
be
reflecting
on
her
past,
which
she
thought
she
had
left
behind,
but
somehow
it
has
a
funny
way
of
catching
up
with
her.
Set
in
Kolkata,
Cakewalk
opens
with
Shilpa
Sen
(Esha
Deol
Takhtani)
trying
to
reach
office
on
time.
She's
bombarded
with
calls
from
the
credit
card
company
on
when
she's
likely
to
make
her
payment.
Something
many
of
us
will
identify
with.
The
only
jarring
part
is
the
heavy
make-up
she
sports,
which
feels
out
of
place,
especially
for
a
chef.
Imagine
toiling
over
a
hot
stove,
and
we
wonder
if
her
heavy
make-up
is
going
to
fall
apart.
Surprising
it
didn't
strike
the
director
that
a
career-oriented
woman
looking
as
though
she
just
stepped
out
of
a
model
hunt
might
be
a
misfit.
She
soon
finds
herself
in
a
situation
where
she
has
to
bake
a
cake
for
her
ex-husband
(Tarun
Malhotra)
and
his
new
wife
(Anindita
Bose),
who
happen
to
be
visiting
the
star
hotel
where
she
is
working
as
a
chef.
We
wish
the
director
had
explored
the
art
of
food
alongside
relationships,
much
like
how
it
happens
in
the
Jon
Favreau
starrer
Chef.
Production
values
aren't
gripping
as
well,
and
whatever
little
shots
of
food
we
are
shown
don't
look
tantalising,
to
say
the
least.
Blame
it
on
the
run-time,
which
is
about
25
minutes;
I
wish
the
conflict
between
the
couple,
could
have
had
more
screen
time.
But
kudos
to
the
director
for
keeping
the
melodrama
down.
There
aren't
scenes
where
the
lead
characters
are
elbowing
at
each
other
as
though
they
are
at
two
ends
of
a
football
stadium.
After
a
heated
argument,
Shilpa
just
keeps
her
ring
aside,
signalling
the
end
of
the
relationship.
Since
you
are
not
invested
in
their
marriage
much,
you
don't
relate
to
the
lead
character's
trauma
that
well.
The
lovemaking
scene
between
Malhotra
and
Bose
also
doesn't
seem
to
be
needed
considering
the
focus
is
on
Deol
and
her
ex.
Instead,
we
feel
the
director
could
have
used
the
space
to
go
in-depth
into
the
lead
characters'
marital
woes.
Coming
to
the
performances,
Esha
Deol
is
a
revelation
with
her
matured
performance,
and
we
couldn't
help
but
wonder
why
she
hadn't
chosen
roles
with
care
before.
Cakewalk
just
proves
that
you
couldn't
write
anyone
off.
Hopefully,
she's
poised
for
a
second
inning.
Filmmakers,
take
note.
Malhotra
shows
flashes
of
brilliance.
Look
out
for
the
scene
where
he
has
a
taste
of
the
cake
and
nostalgia
hits
him.
Bose
is
more
of
a
decorative
piece
here.
Music
(Prajna
Dutta)
for
the
film
is
commendable
and
lends
a
soothing
flavour,
pun
intended.
Costume
designer
Kareen
Pawani
deserves
a
special
mention
as
well.
The
short
film
completely
belongs
to
Deol,
and
for
that
alone,
Cakewalk
can
take
up
your
weekend
time.
I
am
going
with
2.5
stars.
(Cakewalk
streams
on
Voot
for
free)