Movie Review: 'Barfi!'

Please go for the movie. That’s it and nothing more to add at the outset. Though everything seems to be just perfect barring a bit of unnecessary stretch with losing of grip in between, RanBarfir Kapoor steals the show and walks away with the strong claim on the Best Actor trophy.

The story of Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor) spans across nearly four decades which shows him in his clean-shaven young look to mustache-keeping mature look to his old boy look which we have seen in Tata Docomo ad. Barfi is a specially-abled ball of fire who has neither fear nor shame as to what the others think of him. It starts with showing him as a harum-scarum young boy cycling around the curvy roads of beautiful Darjeeling in 1970s when he bumps into a Bong beauty, Shruti (Ileana D’Cruz). She gets attracted to this carefree and confident Barfi who is as sweet as his name. They fall for each other before Shruti takes a practical turn. 

There are many unique gems in the movie. Credit goes to Basu's creativity for letting the title track hilariously introduce us to Barfi’s childhood which otherwise would have been stereotypical melodrama. Barfi is seen taking his metaphorical, portable heart out and giving to the girls to see what they do to it. His friend writes funny letters for him, stealing the lines from the lyrics of old Hindi romantic songs. He has his own way of judging the credibility of another person. Rather than letting a seed of doubt grow in him, Barfi takes everyone he feels close to him near to an electric pole and makes the pole fall just before their feet. Due to this stupid thing, all get pissed at him but one autistic girl, his childhood friend, Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra). She belongs to the goddamned rich family which is worse than a prison cell without a sunray. She feels herself drawing to Barfi as the charmer is not biased towards the beauties alone. Barfi too feels attached to her due to her unquestionable faith in him. Their love springs with fireflies, watermelon seeds, constant hiding-and-seeking and locking of little fingers.

Ileana fits the bill in her debut role with all acting parameters perfectly in place. Priyanka is just too good as Jhilmil. Her expressions are impeccable. She has made a strong mark with her performance. Nonetheless, the story revolves only around the magic boy, Barfi. Ranbir is supremely convincing as deaf-mute Barfi. What is endearing about him is his frequent smile accompanied by his handmade Nike-logo gesture even in his screwing situations. He never submits to his inadequacies; in fact he has a special knack of tackling all of them. He wraps a grass ring around Shruti’s ring finger in a way that beats a pricey ring what she already has of her engagement. When none is around to help, he piggybacks his father to the hospital at the eleventh hour. When everyone is against, he has the ability to find his love Jhilmil by flinging his shoe up in the air against windows, a sure thing that always works for him. Off the track, I want to mention that the voice that you hear the most during the entire movie would be that of Saurabh Shukla’s as our leads rarely speak. Priyanka barely opens her mouth to speak and Barfi, even though opens his mouth more than anybody else does, he can’t speak.

The best part of the movie is that it doesn’t slide into a tragic trajectory. Else, it would be clichéd which would again beseech the audience to understand the agony of the differently-abled and the audience would turn its sympathy button on. This movie on the other hand showcases how a specially-abled person can inspire and teach the normal ones as to how to love and how to live. It has a solid strength to get your eyes a teary layer and at the same time brings an appreciative smile on your face. It’s not about surrendering to weakness; it’s about giving a blind eye or should I put it better, giving a ‘Barfi’ eye to it. The movie would surely keep you hooked till the interval and then you would feel the hook slowly coming off until the end arrives. The grip of the movie loosens but the actors made up for that looseness by their no-nonsense acting. Even though our actors are not-normal, Anurag Basu doesn’t let the sympathetic silence hover over us and keeps the background musical almost throughout the movie. 

Thanks to Pritam for such melodious tracks in the flick. Finally, hats off to Basu for pulling off the story which clearly defines the most misused word ‘Love’ and also throws a fresh light to the way of seeing the half glass full. Treat yourself with this movie which is sure to blow you away. Make sure that you don’t miss the moment for the movie addresses the audience even before it begins. Go and submerge in the world of acting. You would know what a good cinema is all about.