French Biriyani Explained

French Biriyani
Director:	Pannaga Bharana
Producer:	Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar Gurudath A. Talwar
Story:	Pannaga Bharana
Starring:	Danish Sait Sal Yusuf
Music:	Vasuki Vaibhav
Cinematography:	Karthik Palani
Editing:	Deepu S. Kumar
Studio:	PRK Productions
Distributor:	Amazon Prime Video
Runtime:	116 minutes
Country:	India
Language:	Kannada

French Biriyani is a 2020 Indian Kannada-language comedy drama film directed by Pannaga Bharana and starring Danish Sait and Sal Yusuf.^[1] The film is produced by Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar and Gurudath A. Talwar of PRK Productions. It was released on 24 July 2020 on Amazon Prime Video.

Plot

Simon, a representative from a French drug company in France, arrives in India for meeting his company's clients. On his way he arrives in Bangalore and meets Azgar, an auto rickshaw driver from Shivajinagar. The story is a three-day trip between them and changes come to their life they look

Cast

• Danish Sait as Azgar, an auto driver from Shivajinagar
• Sal Yusuf as Simon, a French expatriate who is referred to as "samaan" ^[2]
• Disha Madan as Malini, a news reporter
• Rangayana Raghu as Mahadev, a police officer^[3]
• Michael Madhu as Powder Charles, a don
• Mahantesh Hiremath as Muscle Mani, a Tamil gangster and Charles's son^[4]
• Pitobash Tripathy as Suleiman, Charles's driver
• Sampath Kumar as Mohananna^[5]
• Sindhu Srinivasamurthy as Rahila, Asgar's sister
• Nagabhushana as Purushottam, Rahila's husband
• Chikkanna as Gabru
• RJ Vicky as Blacky
• Vanishree as Mahadev's wife
• Keertana as Asgar's Mother

• Pannaga Bharana in a special appearance in "Yen Madodu Swamy" song
• Aditi Sagar in a special appearance in "The Bengaluru Song"

Production

The film commenced filming in January 2019 in Bangalore and finished shooting in forty days.^[6] The plot of the film is based on the journey of Pannaga Bharana when he travelled from Bangalore to Chennai. When Bharana arrived in Chennai, he was approached by several auto drivers who took him through small alleyways. The film is about a three-day trip between an auto driver from Shivaji Nagar (played by Danish Sait) and a French emigrant (played by Sal Yusuf) during the latter's visit to Bangalore. TikTok star Disha Madan made her film debut with this film and enacted the role of a news reporter.^[7]

Soundtrack

French Biriyani
Type:	Soundtrack
Artist:	Vasuki Vaibhav
Released:	2020
Recorded:	2020
Genre:	Feature film soundtrack
Length:	12:50
Language:	Kannada
Label:	PRK Audio
Producer:	Vasuki Vaibhav
Prev Title:	Law
Prev Year:	2020
Next Title:	Badava Rascal
Next Year:	2021

The songs are composed by Vasuki Vaibhav, Pannaga Bharana's cousin.^[8] The first single from the film, "The Bengaluru Song", has lyrics by Vaibhav and Avinash Balekkala and is sung by Aditi Sagar.^[9] The next single from the film titled "Yen Madodu Swamy" sung by Puneeth Rajkumar was released on 21 July 2020.^[10]

Release

The film was originally scheduled to have a theatrical release in August 2020, but due to COVID-19 pandemic that was dropped in favour of an online release. The film was released on 24 July 2020 on Amazon Prime Video.

Reception

The Indian Express gave the film a rating of two-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote that "The first half of the movie is full of improv humour following the terrifying experiences of the French national. And add to that Danish's flawless Urdu mixed with urban Kannada dialect, you get plenty of funny moments over the course of two hours".^[11]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2021	2nd Chandanavana Film Critics Academy Awards	Best Lyrics	Vasuki Vaibhav Avinash ("Hogbitta Charlie")		^[12] ^[13] ^[14]
		Best Female Singer	Aditi Sagar ("The Bengaluru")
		Best Art Director	Shivakumar
		Best Choreographer:	B Dhananjay ("The Bengaluru")
2021	10th South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Film	PRK Productions
		Best Director	Pannaga Bharana
		Best Cinematographer	Kharthik Palani
		Best Actor	Danish Sait
		Best Supporting Actor	Sal Yusuf
		Best Comedian	Rangayana Raghu
		Best Lyricist	Raghavendra V. Kamath
		Best Female Playback Singer	Aditi Sagar

Notes and References

1. Web site: Balachandran . Logesh . 14 July 2020 . Kannada film French Biriyani to premiere on Amazon Prime on July 24, trailer to release on July 16 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120073010/https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/kannada-film-french-biriyani-to-premiere-on-amazon-prime-on-july-24-trailer-to-release-on-july-16-1700520-2020-07-14 . 20 November 2020 . 15 July 2020 . India Today.
2. Web site: Kumar R. . Manoj . 16 July 2020 . French Biriyani trailer: Puneeth Rajkumar-Danish Sait promise a laugh riot . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200717021959/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/regional/french-biriyani-trailer-danish-sait-6508566/ . 17 July 2020 . 22 July 2020 . The Indian Express.
3. News: 14 July 2020 . French Biryani trailer to be released on Thursday . . live . 15 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120072939/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/french-biryani-trailer-to-be-released-on-thursday/articleshow/76957552.cms . 20 November 2020.
4. News: 24 July 2020 . French Biriyani review: A hilarious ode to Bengaluru . . live . 24 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200724202139/https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/french-biriyani-review-a-hilarious-ode-to-bengaluru-865027.html . 24 July 2020.
5. Web site: 16 July 2020 . French Biriyani trailer: Danish Sait plays a rickshaw driver in Kannada comedy on Amazon Prime Video . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200718062909/https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/french-biriyani-trailer-danish-sait-plays-a-rickshaw-driver-in-kannada-comedy-on-amazon-prime-video-8606331.html . 18 July 2020 . 22 July 2020 . Firstpost.
6. News: Suresh . Sunayana . 5 December 2018 . A French connection for Danish Sait's next with Pannaga Bharana . . live . 22 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120072939/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/a-french-connection-for-danish-saits-next-with-pannaga-bharana/articleshow/66937098.cms . 20 November 2020.
7. News: Nischith . N. . 15 May 2020 . French Biryani to be first Kannada movie to go direct to OTT . . live . 15 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200715014335/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/sandalwood/150520/french-biryani-to-be-first-kannada-movie-to-go-direct-to-ott.html . 15 July 2020.
8. News: 26 December 2018 . When Pannaga Bharana was a guide to Vasuki Vaibhav . . live . 22 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120072940/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/when-pannaga-bharana-was-a-guide-to-vasuki-vaibhav/articleshow/67244008.cms . 20 November 2020.
9. News: 18 July 2020 . Adhiti Sagar's latest song from French Biriyani gets a thumbs up from fans . . live . 22 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120072939/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/music/adhiti-sagars-latest-song-from-french-biriyani-gets-a-thumbs-up-from-fans/articleshow/77041618.cms . 20 November 2020.
10. News: 21 July 2020 . French Biryani's next track, sung by Puneeth Rajkumar, out now . . live . 22 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201120072940/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/music/french-biryanis-next-track-sung-by-puneeth-rajkumar-out-now/articleshow/77087505.cms . 20 November 2020.
11. News: Kumar R. . Manoj . 24 July 2020 . French Biriyani movie review: Danish Sait film is truly cosmopolitan . . live . 23 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200723230629/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/french-biriyani-movie-review-danish-sait-6520616/ . 23 July 2020.
12. Web site: 13 February 2021 . Chandanavana Film Critics Academy Awards: Love Mocktail, Dia, Gentleman Dominate Nomination List . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210227154616/https://www.ibtimes.co.in/chandanavana-film-critics-academy-awards-love-mocktail-dia-gentleman-dominate-nomination-list-833168 . 27 February 2021 . 12 June 2021 . International Business Times.
13. Web site: 23 February 2021 . Winners: Chandanavana Film Critics Academy 2020: Dia, Popcorn Monkey Tiger, Gentleman Walk Away with Maximum Honours . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210426144612/https://www.ibtimes.co.in/chandanavana-film-critics-academy-2020-dia-popcorn-monkey-tiger-gentleman-walk-away-maximum-833452 . 26 April 2021 . 13 June 2021 . International Business Times.
14. Web site: 22 February 2021 . CFCA Awards 2021 – Dhananjaya and Kushee win Best Actors award in lead role . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210226214810/http://cinimirror.com/cfca-awards-2021-dhananjaya-and-kushee-win-best-actors-award-in-lead-role/ . 26 February 2021 . 13 June 2021 . Cinimirror.