Barfi! - Liebe braucht keine Worte

India's official entry to the Oscars - Barfi! might as well have been an acronym for: Breathtaking (cinematography), Astounding (acting), Ruthless (breaking of stereotypes about the disabled), Fantastic (music), and Invigorating (feeling in your heart as you leave the theater).

This is essentially a love triangle between Barfi (played endearingly by Ranbir Kapoor), a hearing and speech impaired son of a poor chauffeur, Jhilmil (played brilliantly by Priyanka Chopra), an autistic girl almost abandoned by her rich parents, and Shruti the narrator of the tale of love (played convincingly by debutante Illeana De Cruz), the soon to be married tourist visiting Darjeeling along with her parents.

The writer and director - Anurag Basu uses non linear storytelling to traverse between 1972, 1978, and 2012 Darjeeling, Calcutta, and little known places of Bengal as they three protagonists try and grapple with Love and its various heart rendering implications to their lives. For a film with hardly any dialogs, 'Barfi!' amazingly manages to say a lot, using a combination of sign language, facial expressions, first person narration, and sometimes simply stunning silences to convey a gamut of emotions.

Several sequences stand out for their sheer brilliance, be it Barfi's reaction at Shruti's choice of her fiancé (Jishu Sengupta in a small but significant role), Shruti and her mother's (played beautifully by the veteran Roopa Ganguly) exchanges on certain choices in Love, Barfi and Jhilmil's night in the forest illuminated by fireflies, Barfi's cutting off of the lamp posts to test the loyalty of his friends, Jhilmil's fantasy about getting married as she watches a 'Chau Dance' in a village, Daju's (Haradhan in a superb supporting role) tear stricken face as he finally accepts Jhilmil's fate and let's her go, the unfolding of the photograph's at Shruti's house to finally reveal the truth about her entire life, and lastly, the finale. All these, and many more, are sure to be etched as a memory, not in your mind, but rather in your heart.

This film shows how one can find happiness in the small things in life, and how disabilities, be in financial, mental, or physical can never really appear as a handicap to an otherwise soaring spirit that does not know how to give up on life. This film reminds us that falling in Love is natural, while staying in Love a decision that must be taken with the heart, rather than the mind. And finally, this is a film that tries, without trying too hard, to help you understand that the language of Love does not necessarily require the wisdom of words.

One might argue that certain portions of the film are 'inspired' from other films. For example, certain dialogs between Shruti and her mother might remind you of the Notebook, certain mannerisms of Barfi as he tries his best to escape the bungling cop (played aptly by Saurabh Shukla) cause you to recollect sequences from the films of Charlie Chaplin, while the way Barfi tries to entertain Jhilmil & Shruti remind you of Singing in The Rain and Mr Bean. Yet, Barfi manages to stand on its own for the way it interprets these classic scenes and the logicality of their inclusion in the proceedings.

The Hair and Makeup department, however, especially when it tries to show the same actors playing aged characters, is the only one that takes a slight dent. Yet almost everything else manages to come together in unison to more than compensate for this slight glitch. And it does so, at numerous places managing to make you think, smile, cry, and sigh, sometimes all at the same time, and in quick succession.

Watch it for the performances (especially that of Ranbir and Priyanka), the vision of the director Anurag Basu and cinematographer Ravi Varman, the terrific score of the music director Pritam Chakravarty, and last but not the least for the innumerable ways in which Love has been expressed between the characters. Trust me - this is the perfect example of art that can forever stay in your heart.

I went into this movie with very high expectations and guess what Anurag Basu did it again.

I am always a fan of movies which are slightly different from traditional bollywood style where hero heroine and villain engaged. This movie was comic most of the times and lovely.

The message I liked the most was "Follow your heart" Well movie can't be good until the actors do their job. Ranbir, Priyanka and Illena were spot on. Though a lot of credit to be given to anurag basu. Most of the gags were new.

Seriously I didn't expected the story to be so twisted in the middle but again credit to Mr Basu, the way he streamlined at the end.

Fantastic.

People this is definitely one of the bestest movie released in bollywood. Lot of intelligent directors are doing great job, kashyap, basu etc.

Must watch 10/10

Love needs expressions not language, it requires feelings no boundaries, it's beyond oceans beyond limits- Free and Beautiful but only few know how to live it. Barfi as its name is sweet, full of aroma, delicious and tasty. This in true sense expresses love without any language, caste, creed or color –Selfless with heart; an impeccable cinema worth watching with your beloved, friends and family.

Barfi ! Essentially is a chapter of life which has numerable good moments to recall, laugh and to love with. Every character is well placed without being dramatic with excellent music, performances, direction and screenplay.

Anurag Basu- the director has done extraordinary work in terms of narrating the story. Like 'Inception' his narrative style takes you in flashback and a flashback within a flashback to narrate a simple story in its most impactful form without creating confusions to audience. Every story has been woven perfectly till climax. Despite the destiny of characters what audience recalls some beautiful moments, cheer, laughs, true love and sacrifice. Each and every prank on screen gives you a bucketful humor and feel good factor whether it's Barfi-cop chase or Barfi's effort to impress Jhilmil and Shruti throughout the movie.

Ranbir Kapoor- Well this guy has redefined himself, and the only commercial cinema star of recent time who knows how to act dances and laugh with perfection. Whether it was 'wake up sid', 'Raajneeti'or 'Rockstar' with every movie he has successfully set benchmark for himself but with this movie he has set benchmark even for so called Khans and Roshans. The beauty of his character is despite being deaf and dump in the movie not a single moment you will realize that he even require to speak. His expressions are heartwarming and simply outstanding.

Priyanka Chopra – Luckily we have a pool of talented actress these days and Priyanka Chopra with this movie will give a tough challenge to her peers. Her expressions as an autism child are natural and clean. Her feelings for Ranbir as a lady could be easily readable and this is undoubtedly one of the best performances of her career.

Ileana D'Cruz – She is one of the best debut of this year. Extremely good looking and charming, she never gives the feeling of a debutant. She does her job perfectly as a narrator and as an actor.

Barfi is a way of life, it has potential to make you laugh without getting dirty, it has power to make you cry without getting dramatic and it has energy to teach you love for all without being a documentary. Barfi is perfect in all sense. And for those who could ask why I have written an inch away from Masterpiece ,well being a critique we always expect more than what we got but as soon as the wedding bells rings in the end it was obvious that Barfi has crossed that inch of perfection… It's a Masterpiece of Indian Cinema.

Thanks & Regards Yours AVA For Complete Review Please VISIT www.thecritiquelab.com Your Views are heartily welcome

It does not revolutionize Bollywood in any way nor is it an example of superlative cinematic brilliance. There are flaws, and lots of them. But, at the same time it's a lesson in the long-lost art of simple filmmaking without being pretentious. The effort is so genuinely heartwarming that it comes out through the characters in the film. I've been extremely critical of Ranbir Kapoor in the past. Maybe he is dumb, but he can surely act! In Junior Kapoor, we do see glimpses of his grandfather. His goofiness is so bloody infectious. He does not play the sympathy-card, he just lets the film carry him along instead of trying what Bollywood heroes desperately try to do - to carry the film on their shoulders. The character is central, not the hero. One of the very few Hindi films I've seen where the audience connects with the character, and not the hero. Ileana is effortlessly sweet and quite unexpectedly brilliant. Saurabh Shukla delivers a standout and stellar performance. The strength of the film lies in the characterisation - so under-toned, and pitch-perfect to counter-balance the trappings of melodrama. The cinematography is breathtaking and so is the music. The visual imagery adds to the emotional quotient of the film. The earnestness of Anurag Basu does suffer a blow because of the predictability of the plot since the temptation of repetitiveness unwittingly underwhelms the magic created in the first half, and, of course, the disappointing performance of Priyanka Chopra. Instead of under-emoting, she overdoes it. Somehow she goes retard trying to portray an autistic girl. Don't judge this film through the prism of cerebral dissection and critical analysis. For once, listen to your heart, not the critics.

Barfi:in a word, a magnificent Indian movie..the features that should be in a movie are present in this movie. An Indian made movie that should be watched well, proving that love can't be expressed only with sanity and language.. Charlie Chaplin movies came to my mind in the first minutes of the movie.