Byri Review: A violent, almost effective drama on pigeon racing and gang wars

Debutant writer-director John Glady’s Byri is a violent drama that tells the tale of gangs rivalling over pigeon racing in Nagercoil. True to its title, there is not even a second in the film without a pigeon. They are either present in the film visually or registered in the screenplay using dialogues. Early in the film, a voiceover tells us that people in the small town breed, raise, and train pigeons to use them for races—a tradition that dates back a hundred years.

Director: John Glady

Cast: Syed Majeed, Ramesh Arumugam, Viji Sekar, John Glady, Saranya Ravichandran

Pigeons do a lot more than race in the film, though. A pigeon sets a world record for being airborne for the longest duration. Another one acts as the purveyor of love for the film’s central character, Syed Majeed’s Lingam. A lot of pigeons become pawns in a training exercise. Another group of pigeons acts as deceivers at a pivotal plot point in a unique storytelling stretch. A gangster named Suyambu (Vinu Lawrence) uses the money he earns from selling pigeons to have sex with a prostitute. There is even a Pigeon Flyers Federation in the film set in Nagercoil.

While the majority of the film is fairly engaging, it also unfortunately has some problematic elements that turn out to be major roadblocks. The film, despite revolving around pigeon racing, lacks a genuine love between the men and their birds. Of course, Linga’s blood boils when he learns that some of his pigeons are hurt, but what he does immediately after coming home to confront the dead birds is excruciating. He throws the pigeons away in a fit of anger. It is even harder to accept that pigeons become meat in Linga’s household and that he has absolutely no qualms about it. It feels really off because it hardly goes with the character arc of the protagonist, especially the part about him bunking class to pursue pigeon racing full-time. While Byri might excite bird lovers for the extended presence of pigeons, I am sure it will irk them with its representation.

It takes a while to sink in that the film is more about the misadventures of two gangs of friends over pigeons rather than the birds themselves. Pigeons are symbols of peace, but the makers of Byri are telling us that they can potentially become instigators of violence in the wrong hands.

Ramesh Arumugam’s character, Ramesh Pannaiyar is a rare pacifist in a film full of youngsters with violent tendencies. In such a violent film, it feels a bit soothing whenever Ramesh calls his gang members “makkale.” Casting is one of the strong suits of Byri. A lot of the actors are fresh faces, but one hardly gets this impression while watching them perform. Sure, they lack a sense of finesse, and in some places, their effort to emote shows. However, each actor makes you care for their character. Glady himself plays Amal with a reasonable amount of sincerity, but his direction stands out more. It is not easy to handle such an ensemble, give enough space for each central character, and extract convincing performances.

On the technical front, Arun Raj and cinematographer AV Vasantha Kumar make the world of gang rivalry and pigeon racing feel reasonably authentic. Sathish Kumar’s frantic editing in the film’s initial portions threatens to make it a chronological mess. The plot goes back and forth from Linga’s days in Nagercoil with the pigeons to the school time he spends stalking Meghana Ellen’s Sharon. This bland love track, especially, contributes hardly anything to the larger narrative. Only the Byri sequel, which they announce within the film, will tell us whether the editor was right with his choices.

However, I am interested to see how the bloody tale of revenge evolves in Byri Part II. Well, truth be told, I am more interested in witnessing the pigeons and the innovative ways they will be used.