Director: Hemant Jangal Awtade
Writer: Nagraj Manjule, Hemant Jangal Awtade
Cast: Nagraj Manjule, Sayaji Shinde, Sayli Patil, Akash Thosar
Ghar Banduk Biryani opens in the fictitious forests of Kolagad, which is also home to Maoists. Commander Pallam’s (Sayaji Shinde) wife is killed within minutes of convincing her husband to surrender because the government has promised a house and a lump sum of money to those who will give up the armed struggle and turn themselves in. She pleads with him to stop wandering in the forest and instead create a home with her in the village, a home where she will cook biryani for him every day. The commander gives in to this persuasion and nods in affirmation — only to realise his wife has been shot by a long-range rifle.
The commander and his comrades plan revenge on the local legislator who sent the forces that killed his wife. In a nearby village, Raju (Akash Thosar), a cook at a local dhaba, makes the best biryani in the village and meets his prospective bride Lakshmi (Sayli Patil). Lakshmi’s father has one condition for the marriage — that Raju should at least own a house of his own. But for Raju, who is just a cook at a local dhaba, this is next to an impossibility. Meanwhile, in faraway Pune, Inspector Raya Patil (Manjule), an honest police officer beats up local goons in a super cop Singham style only to find himself being sent on a punishment posting because those goons are sons of a local powerful politician. Raya is transferred to Kolagad. His wife refuses to accompany him and demands a divorce, accusing him of neglecting his marital life and thus leaving Raya with a longing for a home. The commander, Raju and Raya’s paths cross in the forests of Kolagad and the unexpected happens.
Director Hemant Jangal Awtade begins his film with the tagline “ata chalach bighadvaychi ahe”, which translates to moving away from the symphonic and towards cacophony. In this he succeeds, though perhaps not as he intended. Ghar Banduk Biryani pendulums between ill-planned dream sequences, the harsh life of outlawed Naxals, super cop vigilante tropes and the longing for a home. Dabbling with dark comedy, realism, and clichés of cinematic vigilantism, it’s a chaotic cacophony of too many tropes.
However, what does work for Ghar Banduk Biryani is that this is a rare commercial Marathi film to delve into the Maoist issue and engage with the humane side of a political turmoil that is complicated by oppressive tactics on part of the government and administration, as well as caste atrocities. Without explicitly mentioning caste, Awtade manoeuvres it into the film using dialogues and characters to foreground caste and and class-based inequality. As a debutant in a Marathi film industry that is increasingly churning out biopics and historical films, Awtade’s decision to bring the political and social realities of neglected areas to the forefront deserves praise. The film’s music and sound design work fantastically to elevate the experience. The long opening sequence in the forest is filled with tension and menace thanks to cinematographer Vikram Amladi’s camera work. Perhaps as a concession to current trends, Awtade chooses the vehicle of the alpha masculine hero and the action genre as the vehicle for his story. Unfortunately, this doesn’t serve him as well.
Manjule as a super cop stands out in the film, but like a sore thumb as slow motion action sequences unfurl across the screen with the singular purpose of establishing him as an action hero. In this, he delivers, with fight sequences that remind us of Ajay Devgn’s Singham series and Allu Arjun in Pushpa: The Rise (2021). However, these scenes also feel out of place in Ghar Banduk Biryani, whether next to the dark comedy or the attempts at realism that show how feudalism and inequality continue to infect the lived reality of rural life. The focus on Manjule and romanticising his super cop through slow-motion action sequences comes at the expense of focusing on the more interesting lives of the commander and Raju, who arguably could have added more flavour to this biryani. A good portion of film’s two hours and 45-minute runtime is wasted on Manjule’s action sequences.
Thosar as Raju wins hearts with his earnest performance of a lovelorn youngster who will go any extent to find a home so that he can marry his sweetheart. The complexity of Pallam’s character is robbed by Manjule’s overbearing super cop performance. However, Shinde’s performance has sparks of brilliance despite the writing that favours Manjule’s character. While Awtade does manage to retain some empathy for the Maoists and their experiences, the good cop/ saviour complex overrides the story.