Like the name, its sweet, its simple, its soulful like a symphony but its also stretched and at times feels synthetic (particularly with the frequent flashbacks)…….. Props for being spectacularly “sui generis” (one of a kind) but brickbats for the skeletal script…..
Don’t get the critique wrong, this movie can infact hold its own in the company of some other world cinema like the Artist and Life is Beautiful.
For Bollywood this film is truly path-breaking and to use a cliché, a breath of fresh air.
No foreign locales, no item songs, no crass background score, and definitely no timepass jokes. No sir, this movie is shot in the most loving manner possible in Darjeeling. With its beauty captured perfectly on camera, every frame seems like a picture perfect postcard. Kudos to the cinematographer Ravi Varman, it’s a feast for the eyes….
At its heart , it’s a romantic film, but in the able hands of director Anurag Basu it acquires a rare complexity and depth that will definitely be appreciated by the multiplex crowd. He uses a non-linear approach to the story (in the hope that we may miss the fact that it has very little meat), which although confusing at times is a welcome change from the weekly masala we are subjected to…
The protagonist Murphy/Barfi ! (Ranbir Kapoor) is the premier prankster in his precinct.
A charmer who is deaf/mute (Surprise, surprise given the marketing blitz), he occupies all the time of a cop (Saurabh Shukla). The movie deals with his relationships with firstly Shruti (Ileana D’cruz), the upper class Bengali and Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra), an autistic girl yearning to be recognized as a woman. We follow the emotional, leisurely, humorous and sensitive cycle (and the promos do have their share of cycle rides !!!) of love, heartbreak and joy between these characters.
Shruti, being engaged and Jhilmil, being disabled represent the obstacles our hero has to face in this heartwarming tale of finding happiness in the smallest things in life. Barfi !’s character infact reminds one of Thoreau’s quote “It is better to have your head in the clouds, and know where you are… than to breathe the clearer atmosphere below them, and think that you are in paradise” Don’t worry be Barfi ! as the films tagline suggests.
Pritam’s music is fantastic. Apt and more importantly one of the most melodious scores heard in recent times. It fills the gaps and remains with you long after the movie is over.
Coming to the performances, Ranbir Kapoor is superb. “Rockstar” and “Barfi !” have cemented his place as the next superstar of Indian cinema. Evoking shades of Chaplin and his granddad his performance “shouts” . Priyanka Chopra has proved to the critics that she has grown with every performance and this may be her best one yet. No hamming, no manipulation just Jhilmil. Ileana D’Cruz in her Bollywood debut is assured and very pleasant to watch on screen.
The supporting cast of Saurabh Shukla, Roopa Ganguly (as Shruti’s mother), Akash Khurana (as Barfi’s father) and the rest are more than competent.
Now if only the writer and the editor came to the party this would truly be a Barfi ! worth serving at the Oscars. Nonetheless unlike the 100 crore boys which are easily forgotten when one steps outside the cinema hall this movie is truly mesmerizingly memorable. A film among flicks !!!
To sum up if a regular multiplex ticket costs Rs. 300 this movie is definitely worth Rs. 400 — Go see it in the theater and then buy the DVD if for Ranbir Kapoor’s performance alone….

SAUMIL BHANSHALI