French Biriyani 2020

On his deathbed, Don Charles, known to many as Powder Charles, a feared drug kingpin, receives a chilling message from an unseen caller: > Solomon is landing with the thing. He wastes no time, summoning his ineffectual son Mani and delivering a single, sharp instruction: tell Sulaiman that Solomon will bring the thing in the evening. The moment is tense, rooted in the constant shadow of power and danger, and sets off a chain reaction that will pull in a cast of strangers who are barely connected to Charles’s world.

Mani, portrayed as lazy and unreliable, tries to repeat the instruction to himself, only to be interrupted by a persistent telemarketing call that gnaws away at his focus. The stubborn disruption leads him to forget what his father told him, and by the time he recalls the command, Charles has already passed away. This forgetfulness becomes a thread that scarfs through the entire story, revealing how fragile a life built on fear and control can be.

In the days that follow, Sulaiman, the loyal driver, is given the duty to locate the elusive “Samaan” without a clear briefing. He embarks on a journey that takes him to the airport, where a language barrier and a miscommunication with a curious French traveler spiral into a comedy of errors. The French traveler, Simon Lefevre, speaks little English and mistakes Sulaiman for a personal taxi driver, which unleashes a series of misunderstandings that drive the plot forward with humor and chaos.

The ride becomes chaotic when a protest organized by the city’s taxi drivers erupts, and Sulaiman is dragged from the vehicle by a crowd that resents the new rules. In this moment, the driver hands the suitcase back to Simon and urges him to leave, but the mix-up only deepens. A journalist, Malini, along with her cameraman Kannappa, are covering the protest and attempt to interview Simon, but the language gap leaves them with more questions than answers. Their attempts to capture a clear story intersect with Sulaiman’s urgent quest, creating a palpable tension between intention and miscommunication.

Into this muddle steps Asgar, an auto rickshaw driver who harbors a crush on Malini. He becomes a supporting figure who offers help as Simon searches for a hotel, inviting more chances for misadventure. A fender bender between Asgar’s auto and another car provokes a scuffle that draws a large crowd, and a bus passes by, adding an even dirtier layer of chaos when one passenger spits gutkha onto Simon. The incident sets off a chain of comic coincidences that blur into something more sinister as the plot threads tighten.

Back at the heart of the trouble, Mani and his gang capture Sulaiman for questions, subjecting him to stern interrogations and chalkboard torture when he can’t provide a clear answer. The story then shifts to a lighter, almost farcical thread: Asgar hauls the auto to a mechanic, Simon freshens up, and a desperate need for a phone charger leads to a strange scene. A charger is plugged into a banana stand where a fruit seller’s basket becomes the unlikely repository for a charging cable, and the phone ends up making a bizarre journey that ends with a cow inadvertently swallowing it. A frantic chase ensues as Simon accuses Asgar of theft, and the pair—along with a host of onlookers—end up at the police station. There, Simon tries to explain that he works for a pharmaceutical company, but his awkward phrasing causes the officers to misinterpret him as part of a drug cartel.

As Charles’s funeral approaches, the public procession winds through the streets. Asgar and Simon observe the chaos and realize that one of the pallbearers is the thief who previously stole Simon’s bag. In a moment of slapstick calamity, Charles’s body nearly topples when Asgar’s chaotic efforts to recover the thief go awry, casting an absurd pall over the solemn occasion.

The film then pulls focus to Rahila, Rahila, Asgar’s sister, who has eloped with Purshottam in an intercaste marriage. Rahila’s mother-in-law subjects her to constant pressure for not producing a child, and the couple visits a fertility clinic where the doctor reveals Purshottam’s low sperm count. This blow rekindles old tensions, and Rahila returns home with new worries after she’s shown a divorce notice allegedly sent by Purshottam’s mother. The tension between desire for love and pressure from traditional expectations threads through this subplot, echoing the larger theme of miscommunication and social strain.

As the narrative unfolds, Mani calls Asgar in and asks about Simon, and the truth surfaces: Purushottam plans to flee to Dubai. A servant then reveals the pivotal moment that set the entire sequence in motion—the accidental drop of Charles’s body, orchestrated by Asgar in a chaotic attempt to reach the thief. With this revelation, Mani’s gang closes in, chasing Asgar as he runs to escape.

What unites these disparate threads is a sharply observed sense of how miscommunication, haste, and vanity can spiral into unexpected consequences. The film leans into its ensemble cast to create moments of farce and tension, balancing brisk comic beats with episodes of genuine alarm. Throughout, the story remains anchored by the recurring figure of Sulaiman, whose practical efforts to deliver the “thing” press up against a cascade of misunderstandings that pull in an eclectic cast of characters, including the driven journalist Malini, the charming if bumbling Asgar, the wary Simon Lefevre, and Rahila and Purshottam in a relationship braided by tradition and modern pressures.

As the credits begin to roll, the film lingers on a question that readers might ponder: what is the thing, and at what cost do characters chase it? In a world where a single instruction can unravel a city, the film paints a vivid, multi-voiced portrait of how ordinary people become entangled in plans far larger than themselves, revealing both the humor and the peril that lie at the intersection of crime, culture, and chance.