THE SAMOSA LADY
OBSERVATIONAL CINEMA
A short documentary made in the first year of university, this project responded to the brief of making a piece of observational cinema.
We were instructed not to construct a narrative, but allow narratives to unfold before us. The film centres on the owner of an Indian restaurant in a Ottery St Mary, Devon.
THE SAMOSA LADY
The Samosa Lady is an observational film centred around Minaxi Chauhan Challis or ‘Tina’ as she goes by in the small Devon town of Ottery St Mary where she set up shop 8 years ago. For all this time she has been providing an alternative to the Anglo-Indian cuisine available in the local area, championing authentic regional Indian food from the Gujrat in India where her family originate from.
Unfortunate circumstances left Tina in Ottery a decade ago with little to nothing and she decided to start completely anew by setting up a shop and restaurant serving Indian cuisine. She is the head chef, manager, secretary, interior designer and PR manager of ‘The Samosa Lady’ (with some hired help with the kitchen prep and waiting - a job which I used to do as a teenager). We have become dear friends since I was employed there, a rapport which was essential to completing the filming.
Even though she works incredibly hard, she still maintains so much energy and creativity. Now she’s looking to close shop, I saw a chance to document and communicate the atmosphere of her establishment. The film follows a day in the shop, from open to close, and is centred around the kitchen. I chose to use this location mostly because I wanted this film to be about Tina herself rather than the customers. I aim to communicate some of busy and hectic atmosphere that is always alive and cooking in that kitchen whilst also giving some impression of Tina's character.