Biriyani 2013

Khadeeja endures a loveless marriage, treated as nothing more than an object for her husband Sugan’s pleasure. When she dares to seek her own happiness, he rebukes her, blaming it on her supposed incomplete circumcision and reinforcing a harsh belief that women should not experience sex. She endures strained relationships with her in‑laws, while her mother battles anxiety and a fragile mental state. Although Khadeeja’s education stops at high school, her brother works as an engineer and has just returned from the Middle East; his sudden departure triggers another breakdown in their mother, a crisis Khadeeja tries to soothe by promising a feast to mark their father’s death anniversary.

News reports begin to hint at a radical Wahhabi influence spreading among Malayalees returning from Saudi Arabia, a threat that looms over the family. Khadeeja and her mother are soon investigated because of her brother’s alleged ties to terrorism. Under communal pressure, the marriage dissolves when her husband ends things by text, forbids her from seeing their son, and ultimately abandons her. In search of answers, she seeks out Abubakar, her brother’s handler, who refuses to help and warns them to stay away. The mosque quickly excommunicates them, deepening the sense of isolation.

Abubakar later brings money from her brother, but Khadeeja rejects it and demands its return. A letter from her brother urges her to take their mother to a shrine for healing, a request that sets the next emotional arc in motion. At the shrine, they encounter Bijil, a priest who bluntly tells them that faith alone won’t heal what ails them—most visitors come for the free meals offered there. Khadeeja witnesses the stark contrast between devotion and exploitation: a woman selling her body and the priest’s hypocrisy in a cycle of self‑indulgence that does not honor genuine care. When Bijil confronts her, she responds with sharp mockery of religious double standards.

Days later, Bijil reveals news of her brother’s death in Kashmir and of Abubakar’s arrest, information she must keep from her mother. With no family left, Bijil offers his home and financial support, and they relocate, though Khadeeja resists depending on his money. A journalist’s exposé of their family history devastates them, and Khadeeja’s mother dies from the shock. Grief-stricken and destitute, Khadeeja turns to prostitution, a harsh pivot away from the life she once led; Bijil disapproves but continues to help her as best as he can.

Determined to honor her mother’s wish for a memorial feast, Khadeeja arranges an iftar and even invites her ex‑husband. Before the event, police detain her under false pretenses, leading to a miscarriage. At the iftar, guests unknowingly consume biryani laced with her stillborn fetus, a cruel twist that shocks Bijil into leaving and reminds her that two wrongs do not make a right. Alone and exhausted, Khadeeja feeds a stray dog with her last money before she drowns herself, a final act of despair.

In her last imagined moment, she envisions reclaiming agency over her own body, picturing a moment of sex with her ex‑husband as she had always wished, a private fantasy that stands in stark contrast to the world that denied her autonomy.