Ustad Hotel

Ustad Hotel is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Anwar Rasheed, written by Anjali Menon and produced by Listin Stephen. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan, Thilakan and Nithya Menen with Siddique, Mamukkoya, and Lena in supporting roles, along with Asif Ali and Jishnu in cameo roles. The film features music composed by Gopi Sundar, cinematography handled by Loganathan Srinivasan and editing by Praveen Prabhakar respectively.

The story is about a young man named Faizal, known as Faizi (Dulquer), who studies in Switzerland as a chef against the wishes of his father (Siddique). When this matter comes to light, his father snatches away his passport to prevent him from taking up his new job in the UK. As the relation between father and son deteriorates, Faizi is forced to work as a cook in a restaurant in Kozhikode, run by his grandfather Karim (Thilakan) until he can plan something alternate.

Ustad Hotel released on 29 June 2012 in Kerala, and 20 July 2012 elsewhere in India. The film was a commercial success. It won three National Film Awards, for Best Popular Film, Menon won the award for Best Dialogues and Thilakan got a Special Mention (posthumously). It was remade in Kannada as Gowdru Hotel (2017). The film was dubbed and released in Telugu as Janatha Hotel. Ustad Hotel is considered one of the best films made during the New-Gen cinema movement in Malayalam. This movie is also noted as the last film appearance of veteran actor Thilakan released before his death.

Abdul Razak and Fareeda, a Muslim couple in Kerala, are expecting their first child. Razak wants the child to be a boy and wants to name the child Faizal and call him Faizi. To his disappointment, the child is a girl. Over the years, Fareeda gives birth to three more girls, which irritates Abdul Razak, who migrates to Dubai. Finally, Fareeda gives birth to a boy but, due to her continuous deliveries, Fareeda becomes ill and dies. Abdul Razak takes his five children to Dubai. Faizi is looked after by his four sisters whom he affectionately calls "Ithathas & Company" (Sisters and Company).

As Faizi grows up, his sisters get married one by one and his father marries for a second time. Faizi hopes to be a chef, much against his father's aspirations. Faizi goes to Switzerland to study hotel management at the University of Lausanne. When he returns to Kerala with much fanfare after the course, his father arranges his marriage with Shahana, an interior designer and Abdul Razak's close friend's daughter. Faizi secretly reveals to her that he studied to become a chef and not hotel management. Angered by this, Shahana's family cancels the wedding and Abdul Razak is humiliated.

Angered by the humiliation, Razak takes custody of Faizi's passport and credit cards so that Faizi cannot go to London, where he has received a job offer as a sous chef at The Ivy restaurant. In anger, Faizi travels to Kozhikode to join his grandfather Kareem who is affectionately called "Kareem Ikka" locally. Kareem has been managing Ustad Hotel (named by local people since Ustad means master in Malayalam) for the last 35 years.

Faizi is in Kozhikode longer than he had anticipated. During his stay with his grandfather, Faizi gets involved in the daily activities of Ustad Hotel. He strikes friendships with the members of the band "Kallumakkayas" (mussels) as well as with the employees at the hotel. Kareem Ikka later gets him a job at the nearby "Beach Bay" restaurant. The band invite Faizi to a gig and he notices that the lead singer of the band is Shahana, who is secretly pursuing singing. The gig becomes a hit, and though initially hesitant at meeting each other, when Shahana needs a ride back home, Faizi agrees to drop her. They bond while travelling and she tells him that "today is the last day of my freedom" as she is getting engaged the next day and her conservative family will not allow her dreams. Later, he meets Shahana and her fiance Mehroof in Beach Bay where Mehroof insults him. Shahana later breaks up with Mehroof and tells Faizi she made a mistake in rejecting him earlier.

During a celebration at Beach Bay, Faizi sees a plan to expand Beach Bay which includes Karim Ikka's property and Ustad Hotel. With Shahana's help, he figures out that the owner of Beach Bay wants to acquire the land on which Ustad Hotel stands. Kareem Ikka having taken a bank loan and was struggling to pay it back was at the mercy of the bank which was conspiring with the owner of Beach Bay to seize the restaurant. Faizi and the owner have a confrontation and the owner bribes the local health department and gets Ustad Hotel closed down, citing unhygienic conditions. Faizi collects money from the employees and Kareem Ikka's well-wishers and renovates the hotel. Shahana, too, joins Faizi and they reopen the restaurant, which becomes very successful and enables them to clear the debts. Faizi then receives a new job offer to work as an executive chef in a restaurant in Marseille, France.