French Biriyani Movie Review: If anyone of you readers is a Malayalam movie buff, let me remind you of 'Sadanam Kaiyil Undo?', that popular scene from comedy gold Akkare Akkare Akkare. Dasan and Vijayan, two CBI officers from India reach USA to solve a crime, but are mistaken as smugglers because of their crazy 'pass-phrase'. The plot of French Biriyani, the new Kannada film streaming on Amazon Prime Video, seems to have taken this little thread and expanded it into a two hour long film, adding some crazy gags, madcap characters and a few funky songs. French Biriyani Song Yen Madodu Swamy: Puneeth Rajkumar Turns Into a Singer For This Comedy Drama.

Instead of Dasan and Vijayan, we have a poor Simon (Sal Yusuf), a French salesman who arrives in Bengaluru to pitch for pills that cure erectile dysfunction. He is mistaken for a Russian dealer who who supposed to bring samaan (things) for a dead don. The don's buffoonish son Mani (Mahantesh Hiremath), who recently inherited his father's crimedom, sends his man (Pitobash) to pick up the dealer, and the latter confuses Simon to be Samaan. Fair mistake!

Circumstances land Simon in the autorickshaw of Asghar (Danish Sait), who try to help him reach the hotel. In the interim, Simon's suitcase is stolen, his mobile gets eaten by a cow and both Asghar and he are chased by Mani's men and the cops for the missing bag. All the chaos leads to an nearly empty theatre that's called... well, Climax.

Fans of Guy Ritchie brand cinema could relate a lot to the frenzied intersection of various subplots in this crime comedy. The kind of humour that French Biriyani goes for isn't easy to produce. The great Lijo Jose Pellissery of Angamaly Diaries and Jallikattu tried and failed with Double Barrell (though the film is technically brilliant). Bollywood has a success story to tell in the genre with Abhinay Deo's Delhi Belly.

Watch the Trailer of French Biriyani:

So has French Biriyani, directed by Pannaga Bharana, cracked the success formula of Delhi Belly or been a misfire? French Biriyani is definitely funny and there are quite a few scenes and dialogues that would crack you up. The humour is deliberately silly, after all, this film has a scene where a man is hung on a rope with his face inside a water purifier he intended to sell! Bangalore Loud Sound Evokes Funny Reaction From Comedian Danish Sait Who Mimics Imaginary Conversations of Bengalureans Right After The Sonic Boom (Watch Video).

My favourite scenes are anything that has Asghar interact with his family members, especially his blind Ammi (a rocking Keerthana) in their Hyderabadi lingo. Or that bar brawl fight scene, that also interperses a crazy song in between. The picturisation of the "Hogbitta Charles" song is also another comic gem of brilliance. Vasuki Vaibhav and Avinash Balekkala have come up with some very funny lyrics for the songs (check out the "Bengaluru" song as well that plays in the opening titles). What's more Avinash had also scripted the film, and therefore most of its hilarious dialogues.

All the actors are in great form. Danish Sait, who has been entertaining us during lockdown with his vines, is a treat to watch, as he immaculately shifts from one accent to another, one language to another. Sal Yusuf isn't exactly the VIP Frenchie his character wants him to be, but in a film that pokes fun at stereotypes, maybe we can forgive his casting as a gimmick to be made fun of, can we? The actor does good with his role, even if he speaks a bit too much English than his character is supposed to be. The rest of the cast are also excellent, but Mahantesh Hiremath stands out with his braided hairstyle and hilarious antagonistic character.

Pannaga Bharana has managed to give the film a crisp treatment, while amping up the crazy factor to a high. Not all jokes work though. Some scenes try too hard, but they don't really eke out so much laughter you want them to. The two scenes at the police station had so much potential in humour, but the gags feel stretched. The same goes for the chaotic climax that, despite bringing most of its main characters under one roof, felt underwhelming. In fact, the little moments had more success in cracking you up. Like a cop's wife asking him to dress up as a pizza boy when he comes home. That said, the film's toilet and adult comedy may not be up to everyone's taste.

An unavoidable problem I had with French Biriyani is that while the garnish and the aroma seem delectable, the recipe, that is its screenplay isn't strong enough. The narrative depends way too much on the dialogues and the actors to pull it through. Some of the subplots aren't exactly developed. Like the subplot involving Asghar's sister Rahila (Sindhu Srinivasamurthy) and her Hindu husband (Nagabhushan)'s marital woes doesn't leave much of an impact, even though both the actors are quite good in the role.

Same goes the track involving the opportunistic journalist (Disha Madan), on whom Asghar has a crush on. Even Simon, who is at the crux of the whole chaos, doesn't come across as a very interesting character, even though the movie glimpses a disappointing life for him back home.

Yay!

- Some Hilarious Gags and Songs

- The Performances, Especially Danish Sait, Keerthana and Mahantesh Hiremath

Nay!

- The Inconsistent Plotting

- Underdeveloped Subplots

Final Thoughts

French Biriyani comes off across as a dish that is tasty in parts; some parts really enjoyable, a couple of portions very-undercooked. Still, it makes for a fun one-time watch just for those crazy songs and Danish Sait's Hyderabadi interludes. French Biriyani is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Rating:3.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2020 03:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).