Silences seldom spoke so powerfully. It's been a while since
we saw a film that set style at a subsidiary state to substance; put the
characters' inner life ahead of the showy and fleshy manifestations of
self-identity in a world governed by benevolence and fascination.
Barfi! is a very delightful film. It is the story of a
deaf-and-mute man who could have grown up watching Chaplin and Raj Kapoor's
cinema, and an autistic girl who has definitely not seen Shah Rukh Khan in My
Name Is Khan, is told without the props of a loud background music and other
prompters to get audiences' involved in the proceedings.
Barfi! exudes the warm glow of a life well lived. movie is
full of suspense, drama , action, comedy as well as romance. The film is set in
Darjeeling. Dazzling glow originates from the protagonist Barfi (Murphy) who
lives his life king-size with many Chapliesque comic tricks creating a chain of
comic book adventures for our happy-go-looking hero, even though he can't speak
or hear – so he has no dialogues. Within
no time at all you are swept into the protagonist's world, the two lovely women
who breeze in and out of his existence and various other characters, all etched
with compassion and vividness that one associates with the cinema of Frank
Capra and Ritwik Ghatak.
It's been a while since any protagonist on screen said so
much to us without speaking. Rani Mukerji in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black said
it all through her muted mode of communication. But she had the formal sign
language plus a voiceover for articulate support. But Ranbir has done it
beautifully without any sign language, and voice over. Ranbir Kapoor as Barfi or Murphy whatever! is left to his own devices. An incredibly
enterprising actor, he brings Chaplinesque characteristics to Barfi's
character. Blending a very physical pie-in-the-face style of comic acting with
an intangible poignancy, Ranbir turns his character and the film into a muted
celebration of life. Significantly Anurag Basu, the Director (never mind of his
last film Kites which does nothing at box office because the concept was not
good) does away with the crutches of a sign language and a voiceover.
In Darjeeling of the early seventies lives the
differently-abled Barfi (Ranbir), who never runs out of goofy idea. When he
meets Shruti (Ileana DaCruz), daughter of a rich Kolkata
household that comes to Darjeeling on vacation, the sparks fly. The problem is,
Shruti is already engaged to be married and can't decide who to choose. The
plot spin comes when the poor hero needs big money after his father falls ill.
Search for a solution sees him resort to crime, and also facilitates the entry
of Priyanka Chopra as the autistic Jhilmil. Since Jhilmil belongs to a rich
family, she could be Barfi's key to big cash.
In India, the first-day collection was Rs.9.2 crore, while
the second day saw business worth Rs.11.5 crore. The overseas collection of the
film Barfi! has been around $ 750,000 (Rs.4.04 crore). Movie has collected Rs
105.65 crores Nett at the domestic collection centers in just 21 days.
However most of the scenes were copied from the Hollywood
movies like, Singin In the Rain, The Adventurer, The Cops, City Light 1931 and
Jackie Chan's 1983 comedy hit. In fact, Basu seems greatly inspired by Chaplin.
Pritam's soundtrack has also drawn further comparisons with the musical score
from “Amelie”.
Oscar have record 71 foreign language submissions among
which barfi is nominated form the Indian side The film beat 19 other films to
be named India's entry in the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category at the
Oscars in February next year. The film also has been selected for screening at
the 17th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in October.
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