Salt N' Pepper

Kalidasan works in the state archaeological department in Trivandrum and is a food lover. His only companion is his cook, Babu. Manu Raghav is Kalidasan's nephew, who comes to stay with him, while looking for a job. Kalidasan has a normal life until he gets a mis-dialled phone call from Maya, a dubbing artist living with her friend Meenakshi. Maya rings to order a special dosa (named "Thattil Kutty Dosa" in the film) from a restaurant, but gets Kalidasan instead. Their conversations do not go well at first, but a long-distance romance develops due to their common interest—cooking and food. Kalidasan is a born gourmet while Maya is indulging in culinary activities in memory of her deceased mother. Kalidasan starts to let Maya into the secrets of baking with a multilayered cake called "Joan's Rainbow".

Kalidasan and Maya both get the jitters before their first face-to-face meeting, as each becomes conscious of their own physical appearances, and both decide to send younger and better-looking substitutes instead, Manu and Meenakshi. When they meet, neither Manu nor Meenakshi realise that the other person is a substitute, since they introduce themselves as Kalidasan and Maya, respectively. Manu thinks that Kalidasan is actually in love with Meenakshi, while Meenakshi thinks that Maya is in love with Manu. They attempt to sabotage their older counterpart's relationship by telling Kalidasan and Maya that the person they met would be unsuitable for them. Kalidasan and Maya try to forget each other but fail, and they decide to call each other and meet anyway. Manu and Meenakshi, who by this time have started to develop feelings for each other, are dejected upon hearing this and decide to leave the city so that their older counterparts may have a good relationship. However, they discover the truth and each other's real identities during a chance encounter with a common acquaintance, Pooja, at the railway station. Thus Manu and Meenakshi call Kalidasan and Maya respectively and narrate all the incidents unknown to them. Kalidasan and Maya meet and their relationship begins. It is also shown that Manu and Meenakshi are in a relationship.

• Lal as Kalathil Parambil Kalidasan, an archaeologist by profession and a food lover[8]
• Asif Ali as Manu Raghav, a carefree youngster[9] Asif Ali says, "It's the one character among all that I have essayed [sic] that's closest to my real-life persona."[10]
• Shwetha Menon as Maya Krishnan, a single woman who works as a dubbing artist, also a "foodie"
• Mythili as Meenakshi, a bubbly young girl[11]
• Baburaj as Babu, professional chef[12]
• Vijayaraghavan as Balakrishnan, Kalidasan's friend and colleague
• Ahmed Sidhique as K. T. Mirash, Manu's friend and Meenakshi's teacher
• Kelu Mooppan as Mooppan, a tribal member whom Kalidasan brings to the city
• Kalpana as Mary, owner of the house where Maya and Meenakshi live
• Ambika Mohan as Itha, a regular customer at Mary's beauty parlour
• Archana Kavi as Pooja Nair, a girl whom Manu meets on a train
• Dileesh Pothan as a film director who tries to woo Maya
• Nandhu as Bhaskaran Nair, Pooja's father.
• Shine Tom Chacko as dubbing director
• Munshi Venu as Driving instructor
• Deepa Jayan as Serial actress

The film centres around food, and Aashiq Abu says: "For a society that is so fond of food, this genre of cinema has not been really explored much in Mollywood [Malayalam cinema], save for a few films. As a foodie, I was inspired to make a film centred on food when I came across this interesting script by Syam Pushkaran and Dileesh Nair."[13]

The film often mentions Kerala cuisine. The title song, "Chembavu", features visuals of famous eateries across Kerala, such as the hotels Zain, Sagar, Paragon, Bombay, Buhari, Ananda Bhavan, Paradise, etc., as well as the unique three-metre-tea at a stall in Kumbalangi. It also portrays some Kerala specialities, such as Malabar Erachi pathiri. The lyrics of the song, written by Rafeeque Ahammed, also reference food.[13]

The type of dosa specifically featured in the film, Thattil Kutty Dosa, is a local speciality.[2] The relationship that develops between Kalidasan and Maya centres around the secrets of baking a multilayered cake known as Joan's Rainbow. The legend of this cake is described by Nita Sathyendran in The Hindu:

The story goes that at the end of the Second World War, a French soldier's wife started baking a strawberry cake to give her husband when he returned from the War. He didn't turn up that day, nor did he the next day when she had added a pistachio-flavoured layer to the cake. On the third day she baked a third layer, one in orange flavour, but he didn't come that day either. On the fourth day when she was about to lose hope, her husband arrived bearing a box of chocolates! The woman is said to have melted the chocolates and made a fourth layer, and served the rainbow of layers to her husband, sealing their bond of love forever.[13]

According to Abu, "Salt N' Pepper is meant to be a light-hearted entertainer; it's nothing serious—no big plots, no big twists—but plain old common sense and dollops of good ol' fun".[13]

The film was scripted by first-time writers Syam Pushkaran and Dileesh Nair, who said, "We had a one-liner ready and had approached a few directors. Although most of them liked what they heard, no one was willing to turn it into a movie. Then along came director Aashiq Abu of Daddy Cool fame. Lucky for us, Aashiq was looking for a light-hearted script, something to do before his next superstar film came through. He loved our one-liner enough to give us an advance on the spot and asked us to come back with a full-fledged script".[14]

Salt N' Pepper is Aashiq Abu's second directorial venture. He was assisted by Abhilash S. Kumar. Technicians such as music director Bijibal, costume designer Sameera Saneesh, and V. Saajan had already collaborated with Aashiq in his first film, Daddy Cool. Cinematographer Shyju Kahlid had previously worked with Sameer Thahir on Daddy Cool.[15] The film was produced by Mumbai-based Sadanandan Rangorath under the banner Name Lucsam Creations. Salt N' Pepper is their first project in the Malayalam film industry.[16] Casting was finalised by December 2010. The original cast included Lal, Asif Ali, and Mythili. Nedumudi Venu was also reported to be cast during the original announcement.[17]

Filming began eight months after the script was submitted[14] and was launched on 5 January 2011 with a blessing held at BTH Sarovaram, Kochi. The ceremony also included film producer Naushad making a dosa onstage.[18][19] Principal production for the film started on 3 January 2011 and it was shot entirely in Thiruvananthapuram.[20]

The soundtrack to the film features three songs composed by Bijibal, two romantic melodies and a folk tune, as well as a song written by Malayalee rock band Avial, "Aanakkallan".[30] It is the band's first release since their self-titled debut album, released in 2008. Avial singer Tony John says that "this song is more or less like a teaser for our second album". A music video, which appears at the end of the film, was also produced. John said: "We had loads of fun shooting the video, which is very kind of like what you would see in a music video rather than a filmy number".[31] The video, directed by Aashiq Abu, is the second one for Avial after their first hit, "Nada Nada". It is also the first Avial track with John as the lead singer and Benjamin Isaac as the bass player.[32]

Kerala State Film Awards

• Best Popular Film with Aesthetic value – Sadanandan Rangorath
• Best Actress – Shwetha Menon

Asiavision Awards

• Best Family Movie
• Best Music Director – Bijibal
• Best Lyricist – Rafeeq Ahamed
• Best Second Actress – Shwetha Menon
• Best Comedy Artist – Baburaj
• Special Mention – Mythili

Asianet Film Awards 2011

• Best Star Pair – Asif Ali & Mythili

Vanita Film Awards 2011

• Best Music Director – Bijibal
• Best Comedy Artist – Baburaj
• Best Pair – Lal & Shwetha Menon

Mathrubhumi Film Awards 2011

• Best Path Breaking Movie of the Year

Amrita Film Awards

• Best Film

A loose sequel, Black Coffee, was released on 19 February 2021.

• Salt N' Pepper at IMDb