BIRIYANI MOVIE REVIEW

Biriyani, the delicious dish, becomes the focal point of director Venkat Prabhu’s 5^th film after a very successful outing in Mankatha. The ‘All Boys’ club is almost there with a new key addition in the form of the energetic Karthi.  Biriyani is also a landmark film for Yuvan Shankar Raja as it marks the one hundredth project of the talented music composer.

The tagline of the film says, ‘it’s a Venkat Prabhu diet’ and Biriyani in all forms and shapes establishes the irreverent style of the director that is thoroughly enjoyable. The weird fetish of Karthi to have Biriyani as the main dish for his liquor accompaniment and his pursuit of the same lands him and Premji in unpalatable situation. The consequence of this is the main ingredient of Biriyani giving this ‘dish’ its characteristic Venkat Prabhu flavor.

Karthi is every bit the playboy Sugan and his impish smile and nonchalant body language render the character an endearing feel. He dishes out a charming performance either in the manner in which he scans girls from top to bottom or the way in which he delivers his dialogues. He also scores in dancing and action sequences.

Premji is the perfect foil for Karthi and their chemistry rocks in Biriyani. Even though Premji’s antics are much on expected lines, the self deprecation mode helps with ‘indha dialougai evalo naal daa solluvae”. Through the film, Premji makes the audience laugh, being at the receiving end of Karthi’s waywardness.

Very typical of Venkat Prabhu, comedy pervades in the most serious of situations and one can’t help admiring the director’s dexterity in this segment. With dialogues like “nee aasai padaradhu unakku kedaikkum, naan aasai padaradhum unakku kedaikkum” and “avanukku endha car pidicha ennanga, otta poradhu naan dhaanae”, Venkat Prabhu reiterates his shenanigans.

There is almost a battalion of supporting cast in the form of Jaiprakash, a much beefed up Sampath, Uma Riaz Khan, Nasser, Ramki, Vijayalakshmi, Subbu Panchu and Madhumitha. And a ‘blink and miss’ appearance of Jai also gets noticed with a cheeky statement of the director. Mandy Thaker is her seductive best and Hansika is her ravishing self.

Much has been said about Yuvan’s tracks whose popularity tells it all about their success. Venkat Prabhu has used them aptly without them being a protraction although when appearing in grave circumstances. Pom Pom Pennae, Run for Life and Mississippi numbers are well choreographed and sprightly shot. Cinematographer Sakthi Saravanan’s understanding of his director has resulted in the right kind of angles and mischievous lighting and the cameraman makes a cameo with a comical statement to Karthi in the hospital.

Screen play of Venkat Prabhu is pacy and the director keeps his cards close to the chest for a larger part of the film only to keep the audience guessing till the climax. The writing is crisp, the lines are funny and the audiences are taken through a fun and suspense ride in Biriyani.

To encapsulate, Venkat Prabhu’s Biriyani while adhering to the director’s recipe, has humor, suspense, music, action and glamour in delectable portions resulting in a delicious product.