Someone once said that true love is blind to all the injustices
set down by selfish society. It can grow even in the midst of poverty
and follow a completely no fear or favor course. Anurag Basu's 'Barfi'
is about this and much more. It is the celebration of life. 'Barfi!' is
the story of Murphy (lovingly referred to as Barfi by the people) who
has a speech and hearing disability and lives every single day of his
life to the fullest! With Barfi, Anurag Basu has successfully shown us
an amazing story of a deaf-and-dumb man and an autistic girl without the
support of loud background scores and other means and has also got the
audiences' involved in the proceedings.
South Indian actress Illeana D'Cruz gets into the depths of her character named Shruti (a Bengali belle) to narrate the magical tale of Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor) who happens to be a fun loving character living with his ageing father in Darjeeling of the 70s. Barfi is charming for his cute Chaplin-meets-Mr. Bean funny acts, but more than that, people love him for his childlike and uncomplicated heart. Barfi meets Shruti on her trip to Darjeeling and she finds herself falling for him despite the fact that she is about to get married to a wealthy man back in Kolkata. After a short-lived romance, Shruti chooses worldly pleasures over true love and marries the wealthy man, leaving Barfi dejected and heartbroken.
Jhilmil Chatterjee (played by Priyanka Chopra) is an autistic girl who belongs to rich family in Darjeeling but her family does not seem to care about her emotional needs. Meanwhile, as Barfi tries to come to terms with the fact that Shruti has dumped her, he finds his father suffering from kidney failure. Barfi has no money and tries all possible ways to get the money for his father's treatment but to no avail. Left with no other choice, quite reluctantly, Barfi and his best friend plan to kidnap Jhilmil and blackmail her parents for the money. Within a short span of time, Barfi and Jhilmil realize that they are made for each other and they will have no problems sharing the rest of their lives together without bothering about their physical disabilities. Meanwhile, Shruti could never forget Barfi and even after six years of marriage, she realizes that she still loves the fun loving mute-and-dumb man from Darjeeling.
The story swings from 1978, 1972 and 2012 in a smooth and clear manner and the songs are touching and soulful. Cinematographer Ravi Varman captures striking North Bengal in a marvelous way. Each frame is like a wonderful painting.
The music and background score of the film has been composed by Pritam. Priyanka Chopra was supposed to sing for the film but her contract with Universal Music prevented her from taking the offer. Some additional vocals were given by Ranbir Kapoor himself.
Ranbir Kapoor delivers a stellar performance. After grabbing awards last season for his superb performance in 'Rockstar', Ranbir easily portrays the role of Barfi, leaving the audience speechless. Barfi's character teaches us that life is all about seeking happiness in small things rather than getting wasted in pursuing worldly pleasures. Priyanka Chopra essays the role of an autistic girl with elegance and Bollywood newbie Illeana D'Cruz plays the role of a girl fighting for her own wishes with brilliance.
To sum up, Anurag Basu's 'Barfi!' is an absolute sweet treat for his fans. He has shown us that people with disabilities cannot only be portrayed as lifeless characters on screen. "Barfi" is a sweet that you cannot afford to taste and indulge yourself!
South Indian actress Illeana D'Cruz gets into the depths of her character named Shruti (a Bengali belle) to narrate the magical tale of Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor) who happens to be a fun loving character living with his ageing father in Darjeeling of the 70s. Barfi is charming for his cute Chaplin-meets-Mr. Bean funny acts, but more than that, people love him for his childlike and uncomplicated heart. Barfi meets Shruti on her trip to Darjeeling and she finds herself falling for him despite the fact that she is about to get married to a wealthy man back in Kolkata. After a short-lived romance, Shruti chooses worldly pleasures over true love and marries the wealthy man, leaving Barfi dejected and heartbroken.
Jhilmil Chatterjee (played by Priyanka Chopra) is an autistic girl who belongs to rich family in Darjeeling but her family does not seem to care about her emotional needs. Meanwhile, as Barfi tries to come to terms with the fact that Shruti has dumped her, he finds his father suffering from kidney failure. Barfi has no money and tries all possible ways to get the money for his father's treatment but to no avail. Left with no other choice, quite reluctantly, Barfi and his best friend plan to kidnap Jhilmil and blackmail her parents for the money. Within a short span of time, Barfi and Jhilmil realize that they are made for each other and they will have no problems sharing the rest of their lives together without bothering about their physical disabilities. Meanwhile, Shruti could never forget Barfi and even after six years of marriage, she realizes that she still loves the fun loving mute-and-dumb man from Darjeeling.
The story swings from 1978, 1972 and 2012 in a smooth and clear manner and the songs are touching and soulful. Cinematographer Ravi Varman captures striking North Bengal in a marvelous way. Each frame is like a wonderful painting.
The music and background score of the film has been composed by Pritam. Priyanka Chopra was supposed to sing for the film but her contract with Universal Music prevented her from taking the offer. Some additional vocals were given by Ranbir Kapoor himself.
Ranbir Kapoor delivers a stellar performance. After grabbing awards last season for his superb performance in 'Rockstar', Ranbir easily portrays the role of Barfi, leaving the audience speechless. Barfi's character teaches us that life is all about seeking happiness in small things rather than getting wasted in pursuing worldly pleasures. Priyanka Chopra essays the role of an autistic girl with elegance and Bollywood newbie Illeana D'Cruz plays the role of a girl fighting for her own wishes with brilliance.
To sum up, Anurag Basu's 'Barfi!' is an absolute sweet treat for his fans. He has shown us that people with disabilities cannot only be portrayed as lifeless characters on screen. "Barfi" is a sweet that you cannot afford to taste and indulge yourself!
