Skip to main content

This 'Barfi' is sweetest of all


After a long time comes a movie that makes you laugh and cry at the same time. One cannot stay unmoved by the love and spirit of two people who suffer from hearing and speech impairment and autism. But it doesn't come in the way of identifying their individuality and their likes and dislikes. Neither does it prevent us from empathizing with their feelings.


The story begins with an ailing Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor) and a bunch of people sharing their memories of him and reminiscing about the past. We are introduced to the prankster who knew no boundaries when it came to creating trouble. The local policeman (Saurabh Shukla) was one of the main targets of all the pranks whenever he went chasing him. Barfi was too smart to be caught for any of his crimes. Things change when Barfi gets involved in a kidnapping and a bank robbery. The story of Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra), who was kidnapped by Barfi, then unfolds. Barfi and Jhilmil go through a lot of ups and downs. The initial mistrust is taken over by friendship and somewhere on the way, love creeps in. And they live happily ever after...


That's the story of Barfi, in short. But there is a lot more to it, which cannot be captured in words because Barfi didn't speak any and Jhilmil spoke only a few.


After a super-stressful week, 'Barfi' is the visual treat that I needed to get back on the track. I think this is one of the best movies I have come across. The expectations were very high, specially from Ranbir Kapoor. Knowing the actor that he has evolved into, I knew he must have done a great job but I was not that sure about Priyanka Chopra. But she is amazing as Jhilmil. The best that I can say about her is that somewhere in between the movie I forgot that she is Priyanka Chopra, the 'desi girl'. She remained Jhilmil, the girl who gazed wide-eyed at fireflies trapped in soap bubbles as if it was something magical. 

The music of 'Barfi' contributes a lot to its sweetness. It's difficult to choose a favorite from this album, however, 'Phir le aaya dil' appealed the most to the romantic in me. 'Ala Barfi' and 'Aashiyan' are the two songs that will make you smile on the days when you are feeling low. 

The highlight of 'Barfi' is Ranbir Kapoor. The towel that he dropped years ago was the first bit of cocoon that he had shed. From the unmentionable 'Saawariya' to 'Wake Up Sid', 'Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani', 'Rocket Singh' and 'Rockstar'. Somehow I had a bad feeling about 'Anjaana Anjaani' and thankfully I chose not to see it. Even 'Rockstar' without Ranbir Kapoor (and Mohit Chauhan) would have been a bigger disaster. This is one actor we have seen improve with every single performance. If Ranbir Kapoor ever gives a better performance than that in 'Barfi', I cannot fathom what it would be. 

The two people I want to see with trophies at the end of this year are Ranbir Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Gangs of Waaseypur). And I am saying this even though the most awaited film of the year is yet to release.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A poem from childhood...

"Long legged Italy, kicked poor Sicily In the middle of Mediterranean Sea. Austria was Hungary Took a bit of Turkey Fried it in Japan Dipped it in Greece...." I remember only this much. This poem was my first attempt at learning the names of these countries and locating them on the map of the world. And I thought Austria and Australia were same. :-) It's time to confirm that I was wrong at that point of time, some twenty years back...
12 comments
Read more

I like 'Blue'

After working on my thesis (and doing some time-pass) whole night, I happened to peep out of the window and look at the striking shade of blue in the sky. I immediately looked around for my camera. It took some 90 seconds before I could click this photo and in that span of time the coloour of the sky changed a bit. Nevertheless, it is still very near to (but not exactly) the 'blue' which I like. I am neither very fond of a particular colour (except mauve and lilac) or hate a particular colour. I remember that as a child I didn't like 'yellow' at all. As I grew up, in my mind I started associating colours with different things. E.g. I like 'yellow' when it is a flower which I am looking at (and not Tata Nano or any other car). I would never wear a bright-yellow dress, but that doesn't mean I don't like the colour. Similarly, I love certain shades of 'blue' which look best in a sky or in a water body. Looking at any of my favourite colours (or...
5 comments
Read more

The stranger

Like every Mumbaikar, I had been praying for the monsoons to hit the city and provide some respite from the heat that was on a mission to burn us all. Now that the clouds had finally decided to fly in for their annual visit, they seemed to be as angry as the sun. This has been happening every year, leaving us with only two choices, to either drown in our own sweat or to let the ruthless downpour do its job. As the metro approached Andheri station, people started lining up at the door. With the coach nearly empty, I shifted to the corner seat next to the door. I was just two stops and 4 min away from my destination but that didn't stop me from grabbing my favorite seat the minute it got empty. That's how we have become, always running after something better and not appreciating what we already have. It was almost 9 PM. I climbed down the stairs of D N Nagar metro station, clutching my umbrella and feeling tempted to use it to push away the crowd. It didn't take long for...
7 comments
Read more