Usthad hotel directed by Anwar rasheed and scripted by Anjali menon starring veteran Thilkan,Dulquer,Siddique & Nithya menen. Usthad hotel shows the strong bond developed between grandpa & his grandson. 1st half is filled with comedy & joy,while 2nd half is more of a poverty,under privilege,love,piece & joy everything compelled to make a Usthad hotel indeed a heart warming,endearing and lovable. Movie doesn't offer any thrill nor dramatic twist but at the end give you a charming smile on your face. Plot is littlebit clichéd with some mouth watering flavour added to make viewer s engage throughout. Denouement of the film is really heartwarming and endearing. All actors performance shows their brilliance especially DQ & veteran Thilkan. Music by Gopi sundar was good & apt for this. Must watch for good lovers of Indian cinema. R.I.P Thilkan!

It's really a wonderful feeling when you set to watch a movie with average expectation and it then blows your mind away :) Without doubt, Ustad Hotel is one of the most endearing movies I've seen and is also now one of my all-time favs in Malayalam cinema. Everything about it including the acting, direction, music & visuals are so impressive.Dulquer Salmaan is excellent as Feyzee, the aspiring chef. So is Thilakan for whom I cannot praise as he's beyond all that. Thank God, one of his last movies gave him such a meaty, beautiful role. And of course there the other actors too like Nithya Menen(refreshing), Siddique as Dulquer's father and lot of supporting cast who are naturally convincing.There are some socially relevant messages in the movie that truly hits home without making us feel bored or patronized. That's how any movie should be, which entertains & enlightens! I'm assuming there could be some minor plot holes which I missed, therefore the 9/10. lol...Verdict: Definitely, one of the best movies of 2012 and in my opinion, a must watch.

The movie was a good one. Music,including background music is a high point of the movie. I think what stood out most though was Tilakan's acting. Tilakan is indeed a veteran actor. Dulqar is also very likable with his simple charms.The start of the movie was interesting with Sidhique trying to get a boy child. While there were many sections of the movie that were very heart-warming, as a whole piece, somehow, there is an incompleteness. It is fine to leave threads open.The movie is about a youngster trying to find his life. He pursues his dreams innocently and more or less succeeds in that. His grandfather offers him all the guidance. There is a positive interaction between Dulqar and Tilakan and you feel good as you watch him grow. There is a universal appeal in that theme - youngsters relate to it as their present, older people relate to it in their past.Music is definitely a high point of the movie. Appangalellam is an interesting number and the fluorescent painted faces in the night is impactive in the theater. Other songs have a heart of their own as well - vaathilil aa vaathilil , sanchari nee.The movie presents a lot of situations that you do not see usually. The camera work is excellent in certain sequences.Though personally, I am not a fan of Nithya Menon, I think the slow motion running sequence of Dulqar and Nithya has been excellently shot.The theme background of the movie is awesome.It gnaws at you all the while - there is no escaping it.The sequence where Tilakan talks about rain in the desert somehow impresses you deeply. The camera work is excellent here too. Some pieces talk too directly to you that you cannot express it. You need to get it from the depths where the impression is and sometimes you don't reach it.The movie also attempts at presenting real-life situations that people go through in their daily lives. The sequence where Jishnu complains about the food and how deeply hurt Dulqar is as he makes the dish again is a good one. The sequence is earnest and complete in itself and serves to characterize Jishnu but otherwise seems to not integrate. Or may be not, that is how things are in real too. The prejudice against a cooking job. The lorry driver misbehaving with Dulqar in Burqa. Youth who try to live their passion in music.The movie talks about hunger and how millions are still starving. This sequence is again presented well. It is a feel good movie and I might watch it again.I can watch it again for all the wonderful people in the movie and the endearing gentle malabari accent. Technically, we watched the first day first show of the movie. We reached 6:45 for the 6 PM show but the 6PM show had been canceled due to lack of people. So 9PM was the show and we were there.-----------------------------------------------Well, we did watch it again and this watch was as worthy a one, in fact a more worthwhile one. The first half is almost flawless. Varying techniques have been used in different sequences to keep the movie interesting. Humour was the highlight of the first sequence where Siddique is looking for a boy child.The second scene has a continuous sequence where between cuts, the number of sisters with him drop off one by one as they get married one after the other. Dulqar is a Europe returnee and the movie has not one scene in Europe where as the impression is well established.Through catchy music and sketch art, his life abroad is presented through the credits screen.The ego clash between Siddique and Dulqar has been carefully presented too - using mirrors to represent the egos and carefully calibrating the sound inside and outside the bathroom door. This attention to detail is also seen when Dulqar leaves taking just cash and not the gold chain or passport/credit cards from the drawer. Thereafter, the world around Usthad hotel is very well presented as well.However, looks like there are flaws towards the second half.The usthad hotel is repainted with enthusiasm. But thereafter, the older look of the hotel seems to have been presented again - at least that is the impression I got and that in itself is a flaw.I think there is some lack of focus towards the end.We have the hotel in trouble, then we have the people fighting and getting it up. And then Dulqar gets an offer to work abroad and is about to go and then Tilakan gets a heart attack. Tilakan sends Dulqar to Chennai Chef who exposes him to hunger and his service based approach to cooking.Then he comes back and Tilakan is not there and the hotel is closed. He then takes over and the hotel becomes a huge success. Looks like some unnecessary coding has been done here.If I were to redesign this, I would take out the job offer abroad and the heart attack out from the equation. Tilakan can just send him to Chennai Chef as part of one of his assignments and Dulqar can decide to settle down in Ustad hotel.Either ways, malayalam movie industry is so very back. Earlier I used to hope for more good malayalam movies. Now, I don't have to hope - I just have to look forward to the ones that are on the way.

Ustad hotel is good. Expected more from Anjali Menon/Anwar Rasheed.Movie had a excellent first half, but lose its plot in second half. Movie is dragging in the second half. Cast should be mentioned. Beautiful casting, Good Music. Inspired from true story of Narayanan Krishnan, a plot was included in the movie is inspiring. Expect that, Second half screenplay/story seems ordinary. Dulquer has a bright future, Nithya Menon is good. Thilakan shows why is called a legend. Other casting is good.. Depends on persons view, go for it.. rate yourself. Thanks Deepu