Although dismissed offhand as one of those 바카라Southern바카라 frivolities바카라think, the much-queried 바카라h바카라 that appends not a few 바카라t바카라s and 바카라d바카라s바카라the 바카라i바카라 at the heart of the spelt-as-spoken biriyani is hardly superfluous. Allowances for geo-linguistic variances notwithstanding, some posit that it is a metaphor for the intensely personal relationship between sub-continental palates and the closest we have to a consensus on soul food. It바카라s not for nothing that biriyanis regularly pip pizzas for top spot on annual consumer food-behaviour surveys.
While this passion has long informed and whetted mostly good-natured dinner-table debates, a decidedly unsavoury manifestation has been 바카라biriyani baiting바카라바카라as evinced most recently by the vitriol directed toward protestors in Shaheen Bagh, among others. To counter this appropriation, a group of cinephiles in Kerala set out in 2017 to reclaim the biriyani by adopting it as muse, motif and remuneration for their nascent production venture. In effect, turning the pièce de résistance itself into a means of resistance.
In December 2017, Biriyani Films바카라 the banner features a steaming handi logo바카라released its first short, Ma(d)am, a play on the Malayalam words for religion and madness. The three-minute film has two Hindu extremists conversing about minorities and beef over a Kerala paratha and mutton meal at a roadside hotel also patronised by two Muslim men whose meal order upends their bigoted caricature.
The Biriyani Films crew.
바카라It was a socio-political satire, reflecting on the current mood prevalent in the country,바카라 says Parthan Mohan, the Trivandrum-based adman who co-founded Biriyani Films and directed the short. 바카라Ma(d)am reflects an image of society that we live in and portrays a small slice of it, laced with a dash of humour.바카라
The humble dumpukht as agitpunkt then, but the idea too is to channel their two loves바카라food and cinema바카라to create a flavour while not eschewing meatier concerns. While there is an entire library of films바카라mostly out of Hyderabad바카라inspired by the biriyani, Biriyani Films may well be the first of a unique sub-genre that aims 바카라to make beautiful, relevant creative content at no financial cost, but only gastronomical cost!바카라
바카라The only currency we deal in is biriyani. Right from writing sessions to pre-production, from location hunts and shoots to post-production, nobody is paid in money. Only in biriyani. You don바카라t get to choose your menu here either. There is no such thing as a vegetable biriyani!바카라 Mohan says.
As to the variant of choice, he adds, 바카라Trivians (people of Trivandrum) prefer a spicier biriyani, rich in onions and masala, with a boiled egg and accompanied by raita and pappadom(s). The Thalassery biriyani is bland for our palates. We choose the Trivandrum biriyani, which has more in common to the Thalappakatti style (translates to 바카라turban바카라, made with jeera rice, star anise, mint and a medley of other spices) native to southern Tamil Nadu.바카라
Over two years and over 15 biriyanis (roughly Rs 3,000) later, Biriyani Films has been less prolific than they would like바카라releasing their second short Ellam Sheriyaavum (바카라Everything will be alright바카라) about a common man바카라s fight against bureaucratic apathy last August. Everyone in the team works in Kerala바카라s film, television and advertising as also digital content creation industries in some capacity.
바카라There are very senior professionals and team members are humanists at heart. People who are looking for something beyond a purely monetary relationship with cinema. We haven바카라t had many challenges in getting like-minded people on board and the novelty of the idea was enough to spend their time for the project,바카라 Mohan says.
The films themselves appear to have found an audience and a third film, a spoof comedy titled Shudha Jaathakam (literally, Clean Horoscope), is in the dum...er, drum. Mohan stresses that while the brand may expand into a production platform and eventually monetise their videos, its core humanist ethos will not change.
바카라Whenever it starts generating revenue, we hope to use the money to buy food for the needy and support charity ventures addressing hunger and poverty in our community,바카라 he says.
By Siddharth Premkumar in Thiruvananthapuram
