Prime Video’s Sharmaji Namkeen tells the story of freshly retired widower, B.G. Sharma, who discovers a passion in cooking after being bored of life. The 58-year-old then goes on a journey of self-discovery as he cooks his way to glory in parties, hiding from his disapproving son.
The lead character has been portrayed by both Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal owing the former’s unfortunate demise during the making on the film.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot Summary
The film kicks off with Brij Gopal Sharma aka Sharmaji being forced into retirement by the appliances company he’s worked at for decades. Unable to accept post-retirement life and the humdrum it brings along, he reluctantly passes time by watching TV, fixing the neighbours’ water tanks, walking in parks with his fellow retirees near his New Delhi home, among other things.
The one thing he enjoys a lot is cooking hearty and decedent meals for his two sons — the corporate jobber Rinku (Suhail Nayyar) and the college going Vincy (Taaruk Raina).
Dissatisfied with his existence, Sharmaji continuously tries to look for activities or jobs that will bring about a positive change, much to the dismay of Rinku who keeps convincing him to enjoy a free life and move to a well furnished and larger flat in Gurgaon with him.
The elderly man is adamant that he will not leave his house and like his deceased wife, he too will pass on eventually residing in his own house. Rinku, however, is dating a colleague of his, Urmi (Isha Talwar) and the two plan to get married.
He finds the perfect apartment for his family to move into and hands in the token amount but is unable to disclose this information to his father. Meanwhile, Sharmaji’s luck shines when his friend K.K. Chaddha (Satish Kaushik) gets him a gig to cook at a religious get together.
Initially hesitant, Sharmaji agrees after Chaddha reveals that the gathering is at his niece’s friend’s place. On the day of the event, he gets ready, waits for his sons to leave and arrives at the address provided.
There, he is greeted by Manju Gulati (Sheeba Chaddha), the owner of the house who is surprised to see an elderly gentleman as the cook she hired. Fascinated, she shows him to the kitchen and he gets to work.
To nobody’s surprise, the guests absolutely love the food but Sharmaji is furious with Chaddha as the event is not a religious one but a kitty party, and he quickly leaves without notice.
He instantly gets an invitation to cook for future kitty parties for the ladies in the group and after much deliberation, agrees. However, he takes extra care to not let this information slip in front of his sons or other relatives in the city.
Slowly making a name for himself in the ladies’ friend circle as a marvellous cook, Sharmaji ends up becoming friends with them, eventually being added to their WhatsApp group. He also develops a close bond with Veena Manchanda (Juhi Chawla) — a widow who owns a boutique.
One day after one such party, Veena opts to drop him home and the two bond over tragedies and food. Sharmaji finds himself being attracted to Veena but hits a roadblock when Robbie Sachdeva (Parmeet Sethi), the mayor of West Delhi shows up to a party and seems to have a close relationship with her as well.
The two are introduced to each other by Veena, and Sharmaji reluctantly accepts to cook at a function being organised by Robbie. Despite his romantic upheavals, all seems to going well for the retired old man until the day of his birthday arrives.
If you still have doubts about the ending, here’s a detailed breakdown.
Sharmaji Namkeen ending explained in detail:
Revelations
Rinku and Urmi discuss Sharmaji’s odd behaviour as they buy a cake for his surprise birthday party. The former believes that something is off since he hasn’t fought with him for over a month. They also talk about the builder who isn’t handing over possession of the new flat due to some pending government clearance.
Rinku then heads home and there is a small get together with relatives and neighbours that quickly turns sour. After the cake is cut and everyone is chatting, one of the relatives sees a video of Sharmaji indulging in a game of charades with his lady friends on Facebook.
He asks Rinku to play it on his new smart TV which leaves everyone in splits. Extremely embarrassed by the whole ordeal, Rinku checks his father’s phone after everyone has left and is shocked to see the WhatsApp group.
He berates him for doing such a menial job as cooking food for people at parties and asks him to stop as they live in a society that demands some expectations.
Sharmaji claps back by saying that he does not need to take permission from his sons to live the life he wants to. Vincy too stands up to Rinku and confronts him about bossing everyone around.
This is when Rinku reveals that his younger brother failed an exam and didn’t tell his father but Vincy retaliates by exposing the truth about Rinku buying the new flat which leaves Sharmaji heart broken.
Family dynamics
The next day Sharmaji leaves to cook for another party but is in a terrible mood. He overhears the women talking about overbearing in laws and the constant unfair expectations of a patriarchal society, and decides to tell them that they should do whatever they feel like and not adhere to anyone’s expectations.
Veena notices this rotten mood and offers to give him a ride home again. She pokes him for information and he tells her about not informing his family or sons about this venture of his and the drama it led to.
She consoles him by saying that at least he has someone to bicker with unlike her. The two talk and after the mood is lightened, decide to go to a famous sweet shop. As Sharmaji returns home, he overhears Rinku screaming at the builder of his flat.
Before he can ask Rinku about his outburst, Vincy reminds him that they had to go for dinner to Urmi’s place and the three of them leave. Over dinner, they discuss various things with Urmi’s parents including Sharmaji’s former job, post-retirement life and the flat.
While driving back, after much deliberation, Rinku reveals to his father that the flat is stuck and the builder is refusing to return the token amount which is ₹15,000,00. This news comes as a shock to the old man who tries to to figure out a solution to his son’s problem.
Outburst
Sharmaji sits with Chaddha for a drink and expresses that if his late wife was alive, she would’ve handled everything before it got so bad. His friend consoles him and urges him to have faith in the almighty.
The next day, he meets with his lady friends and informs them that he will not be able to cook for them anymore as his son is getting married soon and he will have to divert his attention there.
The women tell him that Rinku is now like their son as well and they will all help him in the ceremonies. Before he can tell them that the real story is much complicated, he gets a call from a police station saying that his son has been arrested for violence.
Sharmaji, along with all the members of the kitty, reach the police station and discover that Rinku burst into the builder’s office and wrecked it out of frustration, resulting in him being beaten up by security.
They meet with the head inspector who is clearly on the builder’s payroll. The builder, who is also present there badmouths everyone and tries to exert his superiority. Veena tries to record the events but her phone is taken away.
Sharmaji also breaks the builder’s phone when he says something particularly offensive. The inspector is extremely annoyed and puts both Rinku and his dad in jail. Vincy and Chaddha also arrive as the ladies sit and try to figure out a solution.
In a fortunate turn of events, Sharmaji manages to sneak in a phone inside the jail cell and thinks about who to call. Veena notices this and via charades, tries to tell him to call Robbie. After a complicated game of guesses, they finally manage to understand what she’s hinting at and call him.
Robbie Sachdeva, the mayor of West Delhi arrives and reprimands the inspector as well as the builder for their treatment of everyone. He manages to get Sharmaji out of jail and tells Rinku that the builder has another housing project which isn’t stuck and he’ll offer him a flat there.
It is also revealed that Robbie is Veena’s brother-in-law and Chaddha points out to Sharmaji that his coast is still clear. He then thanks Veena for her help and heads home while bickering with his sons.
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