Barfi!

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.

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.

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

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

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.