‘French Biryani’ review: A comedy with all the right ingredients

When French visitor Simon (Sal Yusuf) lands in Bengaluru on his first visit to India, he clearly has no idea what mayhem will envelope his life over the next three days.

In a case of mistaken identity, Simon embarks on a journey that sets in motion a series of unfortunate events that kick off with the loss of his mobile phone, followed by his suitcase being stolen.

As the incidents continue to unfold over the film’s runtime, director Pannaga Bharana cooks up an amusing tale with ‘French Biriyani.’ It’s the multitude of characters — each distinct with its own idiosyncrasies — that lends flavour to this comedy.

Be it the old Don Charles (Michael Madhu), his son Muscle Mani (Mahantesh Hiremath), their grim-faced manager Sundaram (Nagesh Jaikumar) to the family members of auto driver Asgar (Danish Sait), the quirks are there for all to see.

The challenge about writing a comedy is to keep the laughs coming. Bharana has used every tool to create a blend of dark humour and slapstick jokes, along with plenty of double entendres thrown in.

Even in the most serious of situations, there is something to smile about. One standout moment is spearheaded by the water purifier sales agent and his marketing calls to Muscle Mani that lands him in the most unlikeliest of places.

Yusuf, Sait and Hiremath are terrific in their respective roles. Yusuf plays the gullible foreigner perfectly who is new to the oddities of India. Lost and feeling unsafe in a new country, you sympathise with Simon through several moments in the film.

Sait’s kohl-lined eyes and his conversations in a mix of Hindi and Urdu stay true to his Asgar. While his performance appears spontaneous, Hiremath as Muscle Mani is fun to watch as well.

Despite some scenes that are long drawn out and exaggerated, the film still has all the right ingredients for a good watch.

‘French Biriyani’ doesn’t take itself seriously but it entertains while displaying the multi-lingual and multi-cultural fabric of Bengalaru’s Shivaji Nagar. Phalani Karthik’s cinematography showcases the city like never before.

‘French Biriyani’ is out now on Amazon Prime Video