Huma Qureshi to play Tarla Dalal in celebrity chef's biopic

Dalal, known for hosting popular cookery TV shows like ‘The Tarla Dalal Show’ and ‘Cook It Up With Tarla Dalal,’ penned more than 100 cookbooks and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007

Actor Huma Qureshi is set to headline a biopic on noted food writer and chef Tarla Dalal, the makers announced on Tuesday.

Titled "Tarla", the film will be produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, and Nitesh Tiwari.

The movie marks the directorial debut of writer Piyush Gupta, Nitesh Tiwari's longtime collaborator who has worked on the latter's films such as "Dangal" and "Chhichhore".

Dalal, known for hosting popular cookery TV shows like "The Tarla Dalal Show" and "Cook It Up With Tarla Dalal", penned more than 100 cookbooks and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2007. She passed away in 2013 aged 77.

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari said Dalal's story is a "lot more than her being an iconic chef".

"It's a story about a working mother who single handedly changed the face of vegetarian cooking in India and paved the way for many such home cooks and start ups to aspire and achieve their dreams," the "Panga" director said in a statement.

Qureshi recalled that her mother had a copy of one of Dalal's books in their kitchen and how she would often try out many of her recipes for the actor's school tiffin.