Films have focused on food for a few years now, and even those that don’t have food as the central theme have managed to weave food into the story. Both Hollywood and Bollywood have portrayed food in a way that makes audiences crave what their favourite stars are eating on screen. Certain food items became more popular after films were made about them or when films showed characters enjoying them.
Neapolitan pizza in Eat Pray Love
Pizza doesn’t need films to up its popularity, but Julia Roberts did make viewers crave Neapolitan pizza (pizza from Naples) when she ate it in Eat Pray Love. Roberts goes to a restaurant called L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele on her trip to Naples and says that she’s having a relationship with her pizza. Her character’s passion for food is evident and it surely made people want to go to Naples to eat the same pizza.
Sushi in Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Sushi is given new life and meaning in this film that has family legacy as a major theme, with a line that goes: "Jiro's son needs to be twice as good just to be equal. That's how influential his father is." Jiro Dreams of Sushi is actually a documentary about a three Michelin star restaurant in Japan, which serves high-quality sushi that’s very expensive. From the way fish is sliced to how sushi is glazed with soy, everything about the film incites a craving.
Ben & Jerry’s Belgian Dark Chocolate Ice Cream in Salaam Namaste
Although the premise of the film is a love story that goes awry, Salaam Namaste gave people serious cravings for Ben & Jerry’s Belgian Dark Chocolate Ice Cream. Preity Zinta’s character craves the ice cream while she is pregnant and her ex boyfriend takes her out at midnight so she can eat it. It was the first time Ben & Jerry’s was mentioned within the framework of Indian cinema and audiences were curious about the new ice cream brand.
Tiffin lunch in The Lunchbox
Set in Mumbai, this romantic film is centred around Dabbawalas: men who deliver hot meals to anyone who may have ordered them. The Lunchbox details the story of one in approximately 4 million lunch boxes that doesn’t reach its rightful recipient, and Irrfan Khan, a widower, comes in contact with a young housewife. They strike a friendship that borders on romance, while viewers salivate at the sight of a freshly packed tiffin that has sabzi and roti.