Barfi!

I was not actually very keen to watch Barfi. The trailers intrigued me enough to go for it but till the last time I was unsure if it would be any good. And then on a boring Friday I found myself waiting in queue for a 3.05PM show. And I do not regret my decision.

Story/Theme: I'm not sure how to tell the story without giving anything. Let me then take the help of IMDb here.

Three young people learn that love can neither be defined nor contained by society's norms of normal and abnormal

Actually, giving any more would spoil the movie for you.

Character Development:Once in a while there comes a movie which consists of characters not stars. But, it takes a master to make his puppets grow in the short span of 2hrs and 33mins and make people feel the change. Barfi is such a movie where you could observe the characters changing with time, maturing, being tolerant to each other with passing time. Though Barfi is the central character of the movie still, Jhilmil, Shruti and Inspector are well crafted and given ample scope to go through changes. Anurag basu gets full marks from me here.

Direction: Day by day directors are understanding the value of freedom and Anurag Basu once again proved that. Even though having powerful stars and big banner for his last movie Kites various restrictions took away the artistic freedom from him and we got a flop movie. This time he showed what a master director he is. Look at the character of Barfi. How beautifully its crafted. His mannerisms, gestures, postures all are shot with utmost care. Then take Jhilmil's character. An autistic girl. Who gets tangled in the Barfi's life. They fall in love and discover love in their own way. It had the risk of being a "Koshish" anyday. A lucrative trap for making a tearjerker, emotional serious drama but Anurag Basu took the risk of walking on rope here. He subtly showed the pain of the characters through comedy. And there he wins hands down. Then there is Shruti and confused normal person. Who gets lost in the world of few 'abnormal' persons and never survived fully. And, hats off for choosing Saurav Shukla as Inspector. He's a revelation in this movie. Other supporting casts are also good but coming out of theater I bet you would remember only these. And, the subtle touch of live background score...an intelligent touch :)

Screenplay: The movie narration does not go in linear motion. We get jump cuts, flashback within flashbacks and stories from different key characters. I don't know if many would appreciate such story telling. Screenplay is neat, dialogs are few and far between. Silence plays a bigger role in this movie.

Acting: I'm speechless here. Every actor seemed to be acted in this movie considering this is their last chance to prove themselves. Ranbir proved his level in Rockstar already...but Priyanaka just took reinvented herself. A very strong but sidelined character she played here. The focus was never on her but whenever she got scope she just marveled it. Kudos to her and Kudos to Anurag Basu to show us what Priyanka could do. Barfi for Priyanka is going to be what "Jab we Met" is to Kareena. Then, the next gem of the movie is Saurabh Shukla. Another brilliant performance. Ileana as Shruti also did well.

Cinematography: The movie is a visual poetry. Every frame is such beautiful that reminded me "Raavan" by Santosh Shivan. After a few searches I found out the man behind this poetry and he is Mr. Ravi Varman. Just remember this name. Because if you watch the movie you are obvious to search who was the man behind camera.

Songs and background score: Songs are good, specially "Main Kaya Karoon". And, nice melodic background score. Best thing is the story does not stop when the songs happen. The songs just help enrich the moment on-screen.

Editing: In theater few were complaining about the length of the movie. I on the other hand think its the way it was meant to be. Such movies are best told in slowly, like a poetry. Such that every scene, every dialog leaves mark in your mind.

Verdict: Reading this far it might seem its nothing but a romance between two invalids and Anurag Basu emotionally blackmailed you in the movie to love it. But what I've not told you is how much laugh riot it is, how this is even a thriller or how beautiful this movie is. All in all, a movie that gives the pleasure of listening a complete story. A movie to watch with your family. A movie where if you take your girlfriend does not stop saying "how cute!"

Go, watch Barfi!. Watch the best movie of 2012.

Barfi is that gem which has the capacity of making blood in your heart rush just like children rush through the school gates at the ring of bell. All you have to do is to open yourself and let it do the magic.

It offers everything that is there to take from a pure cinematic experience: real characters, genuine relationships, a simple yet poignant story and a soulful score. It offers much more th an this if you can indulge yourself into it a little more. It has acting that connects you straight with the characters and makes you feel for/with them; each frame is a lyrical composition not only by the presence of colors but through their absence as well, the screenplay is such that it either allows the emotions to be overwhelming or would take you out of the scene (completely depends on the viewer).

I can only wish to visit the Darjeeling of 70's as portrayed in the movie and I am sure Basu would not have had any problems filming the Kolkata part of the movie as it is the only city which has majority of its elements from that period still intact (No pun intended). Basu has always been good at using earthly elements in his scenes and he reinforces that here too. The manner in which rain, texture of clouds, stones, bright sun have been used to complement various moods in scenes is just exemplary.

What makes this movie a winner is the unending list of scenes which will make you laugh, cry and sometimes do both at the same time. Dialogue through expression and enactment has been integrated so beautifully in the movie that you sometimes forget that you are watching a movie where two of the protagonists are incapable of communicating conventionally. It's a movie which celebrates one of the most prized feelings of each human being: the joy of being loved, through a story of people who could have easily decided not to embrace it. Priyanka is at her uninhibited best and Ileana plays her bit to the tee. Needless to say that no other present day actor could have done justice to the role of Barf!

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Barfi - CATCH IT (A-) Barfi, an unlikely love triangle of a normal girl, mute boy and autism girl. This is an unlikely combination, which Doesn't seems like to work in Indian Cinema but things have been changed and great success of Barfi proves that even if the hero and heroine are not stereotypical a good story can lead to utmost success. Barfi is not a perfect movie, it was too long and becomes complicated as we travel back and forth between 1976, 1979 and 2012. Besides that life being so easy and cheerful for a mute boy and autism girl is hard to accept, there is a time they live alone for 6 months in big Calcutta city, he can't talk and she doesn't understand but apparently they are happier than ever, how they communicate with world is not explained. Anyways I know it's a movie and i should not go onto that much dept. So, kudos to Anurag Basu for making and attempting a brave subject matter. Ranbir Kapoor is great as always, though his performance is almost the same as in a movie "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" with Katrina Kaif "where he tries to get her affection". This time he was only mute. Priyanka Chopra did a fine job and looked the part. Ileana D'Cruz is a fresh faced beautiful girl. Standing next to too famous young actors and still getting noticed is a huge achievement. In the end, Barfi maybe long but it's fresh, beautiful and heartening.

This is a fable, a beautifully shot, light, airy, bubbly fable. It will make you laugh. A lot. And cry, or mist up, a little. If you're still not a fan of Ranbir, you will walk away as one. And the background songs just don't stop playing in your head.

There are some deeper layers, as well. Why is it in India that we cannot take care of our disabled children ? Why do we get threatened by them, so scared of social approbation that we are willing to abandon our own flesh and blood, despite having the means to look after them ? Why is it that playing safe seems to be ingrained in our blood ? In love, 9 times out of 10, we will choose the guy who is rich and doesn't make us cry to the guy who is poor but makes us laugh ?

Ranbir, a deaf, mute, has never let this inhibit him. He is always happy and always upto something, not all if it legal, much to the chagrin of the local cop, Saurabh Shukla, who blames him singlehandedly for reducing his waist size from a respectable 52 to a mundane 42. He falls in love with the elite, gorgeous girl, visiting Darjeeling, Ileana. She is engaged to be married to Jishu, a prize catch, the dream of every girl in college. But she has never encountered anyone as free spirited as Ranbir.

Ranbir, though, is the son of a lowly driver. Who works for another elite, powerful family. Who have an autistic daughter, Priyanka. Who has been left in an old age home, Muskaan, run by the gentle, ageing, Haradhan Bandhopadhyay. When Priyanka's nana, the man who runs the house with an iron fist, but has a soft corner for his grand daughter, decides to bring her back due to his ill health, the lives of all the characters get affected and change…

The photography and the music is so good that I'm out of superlatives here. Am sure tourist traffic to Darjeeling is going to increase and the music of this film will be played many years from now, a rarity in todays world, where songs struggle for a shelf life beyond three months. Am not so sure about the editing. The flashbacks, the talking heads. Not sure they were needed in a story which was reasonably fast paced and as entertaining as this. Its almost become a fad now, to not tell a story linearly…

Ranbir is amazing. Gets every expression just right. Whether his happy face, the ridiculous expressions he uses to make others laugh, his angry 'speech', or his bewildered look when things go wrong, as they have a tendency to do with him. Ileana is stunning in western dresses, early on in the film. She is nice as the adarsh Bengali nari later on, but didn't think much of her older avatar. Undeniably a great actress. Priyanka proves her acting chops once again, conveying her battles with her inner demons appropriately

Special praise for Saurabh Shukla. The film would've been flat without his Hardy to Ranbir's Laurel. Or Bhola Raja Sapkota, Ranbir's comrade in arms and translator in chief. Or Rupa Ganguly, Ilena's mother, who understands her daughter's predicament and does what she thinks is best for her.

Amongst the moments of the film are the opening credits (set to the song 'Film shuru), the comic chase sequences between Saurabh and Ranbir. The Darjeeling scenes between Ranbir and Ileana – on the train, or cycle or even the horse. And the scene when Haradhan bawls his eyes out, when the apple of his eye, Priyanka leaves the ashram, is just touching beyond belief.

After a long time, a film which doesn't just show perfect, rich, urban people. But people who, despite their imperfections, seem determined to be happy. There is a lesson in there for all of us. More at ww.apurvbollywood.blogspot.com

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.