Hellish desires served with black comedy

Kadaseela Biriyani

Netflix (Tamil)

Director: Nishanth Kalidindi

Cast: Hakkim Shah, Vasanth Selvam, Vijay Ram

Rating: 3.5/5

Nishanth Kalidindi’s debut project, 'Kadaseela Biriyani' (Biriyani in the end), displays morbid humour. Not set on a fixed narrative, the movie works on the unfurling of the events.

Three brothers, Periya Pandi (Vasanth Selvam), Ila Pandi (Dinesh Pandi) and Chikku Pandi (Vijay Ram), embark on a quest to avenge their father’s death. The sons being born into a family that is involved in violence and bloodshed makes the crux of the plot.

Their father wanted to lead a simple life. So he took Chikku Pandi with him to raise him as a person befitting a society run by morals and ethics. After the father is murdered, Chikku Pandi is duped into joining his brothers.

The mother too urges the children to kill her husband’s murderer, and Chikku Pandi is torn between being a dutiful son and wanting to lead a hassle-free life.

If avenging their father’s death is one part of the plot, the other part about hunters becoming the hunted, equally raises curiosity. The kind of stabbings and killings that occur engage our senses, for somewhere the movie becomes a reflection of our netherworld desires.

The black comedy addresses our very own animalistic desires, which never make it to the surface. The filmmaker fictionalises such wishes to make it easier for us to accept reality.

As the plot progresses, it’s interesting how we don’t care whether any of the characters survive or not. The forest area adds to the uncanniness of the setting and theme. It symbolises the fact that an escape from this maze is temporary as death is unavoidable.

Vijay Sethupathi’s voiceover and cameo organically break the film’s serious tone. Overall, 'Kadaseela Biriyani' is a decent debut from Nishanth Kalidindi.