The title of the Telugu film Avakkai Biryani may be hot and spicy, but Anish Kuruvilla has scripted and directed a simple, sweet and sensitive love story about an inter-religious romance.

It's a film set in today's times about the trials and dreams of the protagonists. Set in a small town, the film touches upon issues like communal harmony. It's a kind of film one would not find often these days, and therefore makes for a refreshing, interesting and worthwhile watch.

The milieu is Devarakonda near Vikarabad. Mohammed Akbar Kalaam (Kamal Kamaraju) makes a living as a driver of a seven-seater auto and as a newspaper boy. He dreams of graduating first class in commerce though he has yet to pass in English. What he lacks in qualifications, he makes up in sincerity and earnestness.

The auto he drives belongs to Masterji (Rao Ramesh) who is quite a slave driver. He meets Lakshmi (Bindu [Images] Madhavi) who shifts to Devarakonda from Polavaram along with her family. Lakshmi is in the pickle (avakkai) business and slowly opens a restaurant along with her father. Slowly love blossoms between the two. Both of them are unaware of each other's religious affiliations. Once Lakshmi comes to know, however, she hesitates. But love and Akbar's good nature conquers her heart.

In the meantime, Anish also ensures the protagonist-antagonist tension on account of Babbar (Varun), a staunch Muslim who does not like Akbar's ways. Babbar also has an eye on Lakshmi. Babbar and Masterji gang up to try to send Akbar away from Devarakonda. Will Akbar and Lakshmi unite in the face of all this adversity? Well, watch and find out.

Avakkai Biryani follows the linear pattern of story telling and to some extent, one is transported to the old times when one saw such meaningful tales on screen. As a raconteur, Anish has been able to captivate the audience with his straight-forward and lucid story. Importantly, even though it is fable-like, it is contemporary and relevant too. In the course of his delineation not only does Anish set it in a rural and small-town backdrop, he also takes up the issues plaguing the people there subtly. He adeptly weaves them in along with the aspirations of at least some of these folk to better their lives. In that sense, it is a slice of life too.

The director has also kept the entertainment angle in mind. There are songs (most of them are montages which carry the story forward) and there is an interesting auto race too.

Shamdat, the director of photography who makes his debut in Telugu films, has done an excellent job in filming the topography of Telangana. His camera pans the landscape so beautifully capturing the vast arid and semi-arid landscape. For a change, one gets to see a totally different locale. One gets the 'Iranian' feel while watching Avakkai Biryani in terms of camera work and storytelling. Both have gone hand-in-hand very well.

Full marks to Manikanth Kadri, son of the saxophone legend Padma Shri Kadri Gopalnath, who also makes his debut as a music director. His music is tuneful, melodious and pleasant on the ear and apt for the situations it is composed for. The classical touch is evident too.

Praveen Boyina does well as an editor.

Kamal Kamaraju as Akbar is convincing and is able to get into the character. Debutante Bindu Madhavi too has put in a sincere efforts. Both Kamal and Bindu make the film work and have given mostly restrained performances. Rao Ramesh and Varun fit into their roles too.

Sekhar Kammula has indeed done a good job of producing this film along with his brother Chandrasekhar Kammula. Anish Kuruvilla, who has been with Sekhar for almost a decade, seems to have imbibed Sekhar's simple style of story telling and clean entertainment for the family.

Anish does well as an auteur with Avakkai Biryani. And the audience can surely expect something refreshing, heartening and out of the ordinary in Avakkai Biryani.

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