A whacky black-comedy with Danish’s quirk and the city’s characters woven together!
Akash
Amazon Prime’s next big, direct-digital Kannada release is here! The much awaited Danish Sait starrer titled ‘French Biriyani’, created a good buzz among fans with its quirky trailer cut. Directed by Pannaga Bharana, this is a hyper-link black comedy with numerous characters, purposes and a common finish line. How does French Biriyani entertain its audiences?
The very title French Biriyani attracts a lot of attention from film fans and the moment we know that Danish Sait, the digital content creator turned actor is the hero, we can expect an attempt at a laugh riot. A simple auto driver Agsar (Danish Sait), bumps into Simon (Sal Yusuf), a French expatriate who just landed in the city of Bengaluru. Simultaneously, there is a drug gang whose don (Powder Charles) passes away and his stupid son takes over the entire network. There is also a couple struggling to have a baby and a news reporter girl (Disha Madan), for a heroine. How all these characters come together and how their lives get interlinked forms the rest of the story.
At first sight, this sort of a plot might seem very confusing but the light treatment makes it a breeze for those who might not follow the language. Moreover, a large part of the film rides on the French man trying to communicate to the Kannada people of Bengaluru with the help of the auto driver Agsar in English and a lot of the comedy is dialect and dialogue driven.
As for the casting, Danish as the auto driving protagonist, can be termed the pillar of the film. His one liners work in many places and his reactions and body language are good. Sal Yusuf as the French man does a good job and the chemistry between these two works in places. Some other mention worthy performances include Sindhu Srinivasamurthy (Rahila), who plays Agsar’s sister and her husband played by Naghabushan. The don’s son and his gang do not evoke laughter though they have unique costumes and a weird characterisation that makes them noticeable.
French Biriyani is a film that has experimentation in terms of shot division, colours, characterisation and a lot of other departments but has a fairly tested plot and storyline. The fact that Danish Sait and the rest of Shivaji Nagar (Bengaluru) do not follow anything that the French man (Simon) tries to say creates curiosity at first. In fact, a particular portion that deals with racism is quite interesting and so is the build up to the interval block shot outside the French Embassy. However, the film loses grip in the latter half and seems to have scenes that might seem less engaging until the pre-climax portion. This could have been a lot crisper and entertaining one might think.
Technically, Prime’s French Biriyani can be placed pretty high. For a Kannada film shot on a nominal budget, the team has gone in for some really fine costumes, locations, lighting and tones. Especially the artwork in the don’s bungalow deserves appreciation. Cinematography by Kharthik Palani is mention worthy and the edit could have been a little tidier. Music aids in the form of a relevant background score.
Some of the mention worthy sequences in French Biriyani include the hilarious accident scene between Danish and a random girl, the interval block, scenes inside the police station that have a trippy feel and the night sequences between SImon and Agsar within the auto. A lot of focus is on Bengaluru, the city’s people, their slang, issues, the way they deal with people and so on. It can be termed as the film that brings out certain shades of the city, clubbed with the black comedy and commotion.
On the whole, Amazon Prime’s French Biriyani has a fair share of positives and few things that could have had better precision. Danish Sait and team leave us with a few laughs and a few misses. What might seem entertaining for most viewers is the whacky nature and overall treatment. If for a slightly crisper latter half and more relevant emotions, this black humour attempt may have worked wonders among audiences. Nevertheless, it is a watchable comedy film that engages with its colours and the scent of Bengaluru and its characters.
Bottomline:
A fairly entertaining auto-ride from Danish Sait and team ‘French Biriyani’. through the streets of Bengaluru!
2.75/5