Barfi! Review

BARFI! is a Hindi feature film which released on 14th November, 2012. It has been directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapoor under the banner of UTV Motion Pictures & Ishana Movies. Its genre is romance-comedy. Is it romantic? Or is it comical? Read the review below to know the details.

Story : Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor) is a mute and dumb young man. He falls in love with Shruti (Ileana) who is already engaged with someone. When Barfi tries to convince her, she too falls in love with him but her mother Roopa Ganguly does not like it and convinces her to forget him and marry a rich man to whom she was engaged. When Barfi's heart is broken, he falls in love with Jhilmil (Priyanka) who is his childhood friend and is mentally retarded. But at the end Shruti realizes that by listening to her mother, she had made a mistake so she leaves her husband forever and goes to get her lost love- Barfi.

But she discovers that he was in love with Jhilmil. Now she is of no-where.

What happens next is shown at the end of the film.

Performance : Ranbir Kapoor is excellent. He is the soul of the film. Despite two heroines of top level, he makes his presence more than the others and leaves you speechless with his superb acting. He will remind you Charlie Chaplin the way he does comedy. His comic timing is brilliant and expressions are extremely good. Priyanka Chopra is also good. She too has acted very well. However, there is no variation in her character and her performance becomes monotonous after reaching a point. Though she performs very well as a mentally retarded character, she has nothing more to do and keeps on doing the same act always. You can say that through this character she has proved that she is not only glamorous but a good performer too. Ileana D'cruz is average. In some scenes she has acted well whereas in some scenes she is just above average. Roopa Ganguly in the mother's role of Ileana is just okay. Akash Khurana is good in the role of Ranbir's father. Saurabh Shukla has got enough footage in this film as an Inspector and he has done his part well. His presence creates humor most of the time in the film when he is chasing Ranbir. Ashish Vidyarthi is as usual.

Script : Story of the film is different. However, there are loopholes in the screenplay and it is confusing at many places. Dialogues are average. The script could have been much better.

Music : Its music director is Pritam Chakraborty and the music of the film is not up to the mark. In fact, music is dull and you can hardly play them again and again. Some songs are just for one time. The only song which can be played many times and which is pleasant to hear is 'Itni Si Khushi, Itni Si Hansi' sung by Shreya Ghosal but it comes only after the film ends. The same song comes after 2nd half in the voice of Nikhil Paul George which is good, but not as good as Shreya's one. Another song by Nikhil Paul George 'Main Kya Karoon' is just average. 'Ala Barfi' sung by Mohit Chauhan is funny in terms of lyrics but not pleasant to hear when you are not watching the film.

Cinematography : The DOP Ravi Varman has filmed chasing scenes well but somewhere lacks in lighting part while filming room or still sequences. While shooting indoors, you get less freshness whereas while shooting it appears fresh (may be due to daylight).

Editing : At some places cuttings are not properly taken and so either the screenplay is confusing or its editing has confused it. The editor Akiv Ali could have made the picture clearer through his editing skills.

Choreography : All songs have been filmed on background music/songs and you don't get to see any impressive choreography which can be mentioned here.

Direction : Direction by Anurag Basu is okay. He has dared to portray a sentimental film in which he gets success but at the same time he has made it in a comical way. He has succeeded in making you smile and laugh with some of the acts of Ranbir Kapoor and some gags. But he has taken the help of some toilet humor to make you laugh which was not needed. Ranbir was enough to make you laugh with clean comedy. But the director has incorporated too much toilet humor. However, the director takes very good work from Ranbir & Priyanka. Both have done excellent job and given their best till date. The director has tried to give Ranbir the touch of Charlie Chaplin in which he succeeds to some extent.

Conclusion : This is a romantic film with one man and two girlfriends but there is less romance and more comedy. Also it has very less musical-romantic songs. So at the end of the day it is neither completely a comedy film nor a romantic film. It is hotch-potch of romance & comedy full of tragedy because both Ranbir & Priyanka die.

Plus Points : Ranbir's Brilliant Acting; Priyanka's Superb Performance

Minus Points : Dull Script; Dull Music

Box Office Predictions : 80% seats were full in one of the multiplexes of Mumbai with college going students. But it is doubtful that it will continue to do so because the film is not so exciting except Ranbir's acting. Just due to Ranbir's charm this film may attract audiences and it may become a hit otherwise it is very difficult for it to become super hit or blockbuster.

Overall Review : The chase sequence when Saurabh Shukla runs after Ranbir (Barfi) is genuinely funny but after that many comical scenes appear to be forced or gags. Biting the bum of the other every time doesn't suit Ranbir and you ask yourself-He is mute and dumb; Okay; but is he also mentally retarded? The film is too lengthy and makes you sleepy as you approach towards the end even though it succeeds in making you laugh at some points. The film also starts with slow pace and the narration is confusing. The transition sequences are not clear which could be the fault of the editor or the director or the screenplay writer. It doesn't keep you hooked and there are many places when you can go for loo!

Verdict : This BARFI is tasteless (without sugar) but is good for health because sugar is not good for health. However, if you want to watch just extraordinary performance of Ranbir, you must watch it but be prepared that you are not going to get anything more than that!