French Biriyani

The movie opens with the intension of serving the platter full of comedy entertainer for the start 2 hours. And it begins the same way, but towards the end of the first half it's nothing but all pandemonium.

Avinash Balekkala's writing is as much Confused as the character of Simon is in the movie. I wish Pannaga Bharana had directed "French Biriyani" first and next the "Happy New year," Al least then I wouldn't have the same problem that I've now with his direction.

I'm not saying French Biriyani is completely non-sense, the movie had its fair amount of the laughs. But, it didn't not work out as a complete package. Felt like I'm watching some various clips of comedy scenes from a different movies. There wasn't any proper vision in the story telling.

Huff the Climax! Seriously, what was that?

French Biriyani (2020) Kannada (Amazon Prime), Movie Review.

A comedy of errors that is very aware of itself and packed with jokes galore.

Simon (Sal Yusuf) is a French National who comes to Bangalore to attend a conference, but due to a strike he couldn't find his pickup guy, and instead is picked up by Suleiman (Pitobash Tripathy) who mistakes him as a smuggler bringing goods for his Don Muscle Mani (Mahantesh Hiremath). When Suleiman's car is stopped by strikers, Simon gets out and takes the auto of Ashgar (Danish Sait). Then follows a crazy journey, as both Gangsters and Police chases Simon and Ashgar.

The movie is filled with good jokes and punchlines and some of them are bound to make you go ROFL and some are very subtle and highly aware of what's going on in the country. The "racist" joke (pun!) in the police station between Simon and the Inspector is absolutely hilarious, the scene where the cow eats up Simon's mobile and everyone offers suggestions is very witty and deftly done. A crazy man in lock up imagines himself as a Great Magician is humorous, insightful and serendipitous. The movie is so self aware that the climax takes place in a theater named Climax Theatre. Acting honours definitely go to Danish and Mahantesh. The director did a good job of tying up all the sub-plots and providing a neat finish. The cinematography is adequate and this is the first Bengaluru movie I saw where the IT parks were not shown while capturing the rustle and bustle of the Garden City very nicely, a commendable job. The music is very experimental but the songs do not interrupt the proceedings.

The long gaps between the gags sometimes frustrates and the editing could have been tighter. The background noise was unnecessarily high at times.

Overall a funny experimental comedy that laughs at itself and the society that is worth watching.

Not that good as expected ...but has good jokes.......

It's safe to say that French Biriyani works best as a tribute to the cosmopolitan city of Bengaluru over all else. As someone who has lived in the city for many years, I was able to catch most of the inside jokes easily. That said, one out of every five or six jokes in French Biriyani directed by Pannaga Bharana, was packed with sexual innuendos. The story, as the makers would want it, is a giant comedy of errors. Absurdity permeates through every character and proves to be the film's soul.

Danish Sait, as autorickshaw driver Asgar, was spot on in his body language and accent. He seems well on his way to becoming Kannada cinema's Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno, The Dictator), carving out a niche of his own in comedy. The same can be said for Sal Yusuf, who I've seen in minor roles in quite a few Malayalam films in the last decade. Rangayana Raghu, as police officer Mahadev, and Michael Madhu as don Powder Charles, also amp up the absurd comedy quotient. There's also a subplot about child conception that's both laugh-worthy and farcical.

On the flip side, not all jokes land well, even if you exclude the double entendres. The songs, while not too out-of-place, aren't hummable. Also, as the film makes its way to the climax that fittingly takes place at the "Climax Theatre", there's so much chaos happening that you stop caring about the outcome of it all. More so because the scripting isn't as effective.

Personally, I wanted to watch this movie only because Danish was a part of it. This beginning his second movie wasn't that bad of an attempt too. He carries his role with precision. Though a lot more work on the plot at the storyline could have been done. The movie could make you laugh if you don't look at too critically. A good one time watch, expecting the kannada industry to bring more young and rising talent up like this always.