Half Cooked Biriyani

                   Half cooked Biryani

                                                      - Megha

Biriyani, the third directorial venture of Sajin Baabu premiered at the 20th Asiatica Film Festival

in Italy in 2019 is a socio-political drama that is equally about religion, women and terrorism. It

can also be read as a tale of a woman who is abused and manipulated by her family and society

at every turn. It is about a woman whose husband cannot satisfy her in bed, whose

mother-in-law hates her for being bold, whose mother is dealing with mental health issues,

whose brother is framed as a terrorist and is killed. While living within the barriers of society,

Khadeeja played by Kani Kusurthi tries to break through it and she seems like a character full of

intense desire. For viewers, Biriyani tries to offer multiple varieties to savour from.

More than dialogues and their articulation, the filmmaker prioritized pictures and expressions.

The very opening of the movie shows us the picture of a sexually unsatisfied Indian woman.

Indian cinema never really gave limelight to female sexual pleasures until recently and

Mollywood is still conventional about its representation but Sajin Baabu opens the film by

placing this issue through the image of Khadeeja masturbating to finish herself after her

husband forcing himself on her. Later in the film, we can see Khadeeja using her body to

avenge the society which has commodified the female body overages. The body is used as a

tool of protest. But it is quite absurd to call a film progressive because it displays nudity.

The film was largely criticised for its representation of Islam. In the very opening scene, we see

Khadeeja’s husband referring to FGM (Female Genital Mutilation).FGM is not popularly

practised among Muslims of Kerala. In 2017 Mathribhumi published an article regarding this but

it was clear from the very article itself that this was done without communities support. But

Biriyani presents it as a common practice and it is misleading.

When the news of her brother being accused of being a terrorist (inclusion of terrorism seems

inevitable in Muslim narratives) came Khadeeja and her mother are outcasted from the

community and her husband divorce her over a text message. We’ve seen this type of instant

divorces before in Malayalam cinema but the central govt passed the triple talaq bill in 2018

criminalising Muslim men who engage in instant divorce. It is illegal but then we see it in the film

as a common phenomenon.

The representation of Muslim life in the film is debatable. How relatable is it to Muslims in

Kerala? Why is Kani’s character the epitome of suffering? Also, it wasn't clear why Khadeeja

chose sex work after liberating from her marital relationship. Even when Khadeeja breaks free

from all the chains we always see men guiding her. When the muezzin walks away from her

after learning what she did we see Khadeeja who has lost all hopes. We see her jumping off the

bridge.It is very ambiguous to see her commit suicide though she stated earlier in the movie that

she won’t do it and she doesn't want to have a mental state like that of her mother.

Even when Khadeeja tried to hold herself tight, the audience are being put under extreme

pressure. The ending where she serves biriyani mixed with her dead fetus to everyone who

manipulated her emotionally and mentally,seems revengeful at the same time sadistic.

Terrorism, Love jihad, prostitution in the dargah, talaq through text message, FGM and the list

moves in a way triggering the Muslim community, which is why it was called biryani boiled in islamophobia in reviews.