Barfi Movie review

Barfi, in spite of its unique lead roles, is a usual love story set in the backdrop of Darjeeling of 1970s. The movie clearly is not about disabilities.

   Most of the stories in the Indian as well as the world Cinema revolve around a Super hero. Not just the movies but any story for that matter is spun around a bold guy and a beautiful girl.  May be because that’s what is more attractive. A few years back I read a story where the heroine, who is not attractive challenges the hero, a writer to write a story about an unattractive bad heroine. That story made me realize how much importance beauty or heroism holds in our stories. Even if its not stated explicitly it is deemed that the hero/heroine has certain pre-defined characteristics.

   But Anurag Basu has an altogether different story to tell. The hero is neither a rich man nor a strong one; he is just a good hearted and cheerful young person who happens to be deaf and dumb. Even one of the female lead is an autism-affected girl. But, the story doesn’t dwell on that subject. This is what makes the movie unique and lovable.

   Coming to the plot, it starts with the present day with old Barfi on bed and his story being told by all his friends. This is how we get introduced to the characters in the film.

The shuffling between present and past causes a little confusion, but slowly everything gets linked up.  The story line is kept simple, maintains its logic through out and also has a pinch of suspense/mystery added to it.  What more, it also has a nice back ground score, some really good songs, a great picturization of the scenic beauty of Darjeeling, and apt performances. The movie is cool on your eyes and soothing to the ears.

   Priyanka chopra is the best of all, she carries the character without any uneasiness and that makes it natural. Ranbir proves his acting skills yet again. Ileana as a confused, traditional lady performs the best in her acting career. Also she looks beautiful in the Bengali cotton sarees with a big bindi.  Later her look unnecessarily changes to the stereotypical Social worker! The director could not come out of the stereotypes completely after all!!

   In all, it’s a good effort to tell the tale of three common people with all their insecurities and dilemmas, who often would go unnoticed.