Monday, September 17, 2012

Barfi! - Movie Review

After a really long time, saw a really good film! Barfi, directed by Anurag Basu (mera naam-bandhu), is a fantastic attempt that stays with you even after you come out of the theatre. Breaking the stereotypical caricatures that our Bollywood films often build around mentally challenged or physically disabled people, Barfi is a heartwarming take on the love story between a deaf and mute boy, Murphy (barfi is what he calls himself, payed brilliantly by Ranbeer Kapoor) and an autistic girl, Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra in yet another terrific role).

Before i forget, the movie is incomplete without the mention of its second protagonist, Shruthi, played by mana tollywood ammayi, Ileana. She plays Barfi's love interest, the film's narrator and a strong bolt that binds the film together. A perfect debut in Hindi films, i guess! The film is based in Darjeeling and kolkatta and the camerawork as well as the cinematography is just awesome! every frame looks amazingly beautiful, and the film, set in 1970's looks every bit authentic.

Though a lot of the scenes seem to be influenced or inspired from some of the finest foreign movies, like the ones starring Charlie Chaplin and Mr. Bean, Ranbeer competely takes your mind off that and makes you fall in love with his character. Offering him stiff competition is Priyanka Chopra, who plays an autistic girl with such conviction, that she outshines SRK's autistic act in MNIK. They are brilliant! Ileana, looks beautiful, and every bit a bengali but has a relatively less challenging role. But, she emotes beautifully through her eyes. Well, that again proves that our heroines are wasted in Tollywood, and their potential is wasted.

Coming to the technicalities, the music, lyrics, cinematography are absolutely A grade! But, the story and the screenplay take the cake! Mixing a love story with other tracks, and executing it without even a single dialogue for its lead pair, is most certainly a great achievement. Kudos to Anurag Basu for this.

On the whole, though it might seem a little dragging in some parts, the second half is amazing. A perfect film after a perfectly long time. MY RATING: 4/5