Gesturing towards his torn pockets, his ripped shoe, his inability to hear or speak, Ranbir beautifully conveys Barfi’s deep hurt at being rejected. In a later scene, one of the best in this film, Barfi wordlessly acknowledges the gaping divide between Shruti and himself. But, in a scene lifted straight out of The Notebook, Shruti is reminded why their romance can have no happy ending. Doffing their hats to Chaplin in these comical chases, Basu and his star deliver a range of delightful slapstick moments.īarfi falls for the delicately pretty Shruti (Ileana D’cruz), whom he woos relentlessly.
He’s a happy-go-lucky deaf-mute boy in Darjeeling, forever on the run from a portly cop (Saurabh Shukla) for his petty misdemeanors. Spanning forty years in the life of Murphy - or Barfi as he calls himself - a poor chauffeur’s son played by Ranbir Kapoor, the film unfolds in the early 1970s.
Ironic then that Basu himself suffers the same affliction… Not content telling a simple story without any fuss, he complicates the narrative with confusing timelines and a needless whodunit subplot. There are no villains in this story, only honest people who make wrong choices occasionally. This is a film about inherently decent people faced with tough decisions.
There’s a lot that’s admirable about Barfi, particularly the simplicity of its characters and their actions. Even as routine acknowledgements appear on a black screen, you’re charmed by the accompanying ditty, Picture shuru, whose chorus instructs you to switch off your phones and submit yourself to the experience that follows. That rare film that puts a smile on your face even before a single frame of the story is revealed, Anurag Basu’s Barfi envelopes you like a warm blanket from the moment you settle into your seat. Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ileana D’cruz, Saurabh Shukla, Rupa Ganguly, Akash Khurana
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