A
bird made of paper also has wings, a boat can stay afloat in a puddle of water ……………if
u are blessed with life, live it every moment
Love happens…It’s not the ritual which we
follow to seek for comforts or take into
account the social standing and financial status of a respective partner in question (i.e.like sealing a business
transaction) but often our society swears by the latter. Love and material comforts do not go hand in
most of the cases. Barfi is a moving tale of the human spirit flying high,
casting aside the imperfections of life. We just bow down to the finer
sensibilities that Anurag Basu conceived of showing on celluloid and the way
Ranbir transformed the director’s thoughts with perfection.
There is nothing so unique about the story,
the rich girl (Shruiti) falls in love with a dumb and deaf boy(Barfi) who has
nothing to give her back in return, except his heart of gold. You get a glimpse
of Kolkata of the 70’s and also feel the charm of the misty hills of
Darjeeling. There is innovation in the treatment of the characters, in the
portrayal of the story which proves Basu is a great story-teller. The chaplinesque
flavor of Ranbir makes you awestruck. From escaping the chases of the
policeman, to the innumerable pranks that he indulges in, there is equal
stoicism in which he accepts rejection in love. Barfi’s lady-love whom he meets
in Darjeeling, who came for a vacation there, already has a handsome fiancé,
with a commendable financial footing. Reality slaps a lover’s expectation of
having her beloved by his side for a lifetime. The way Barfi vents out his feelings,
anger, frustration and then uses the sign not to forget to smile to Shruti- in monosyllables
and sign languages, with Shruti watching
him speechlessly, feeling his pain……touches the heart……….When things go wrong,
even his bicycle, Barfi’s symbolic companion, fails to work, indecisive to take
Barfi through his next journey of life.
The need for lumpsum money as Barfi’s
father falls ill leads to the introduction of Priyanka Chopra (Jhilmil) who can
be his source to have that whopping amount. She belongs to a filthy rich family and when
Ranbir thinks of resorting to crime, the plot spins bringing with it suspense
and thrill. The way Piggy Chops( I promise you will forget that you are watching Priyanka Chopra on screen) got into the skin
of the character of Jhilmil, is absolutely mind-boggling. Her childlike antics
and the flair, with which she reflected the nuances of an autistic girl,
deserve kudos. Her need to be protected, the need to lock her little finger
with only those, whom she believes in, like her daddu( great acting by the ace
Haradhan Bandhopadhyay) and then her
Buffy( Barfi)…(mom, dada, lover all rolled into one) has been magnified with
minute details and observation by the director. Barfi, also, on the other hand,
seeks for approval and a pledge that whoever is close to him will be with him
through thick and thin. It is via his unique test of cutting a log-like street
lamp and when it falls on the ground
with a thud, his partner cannot afford to leave his hand, but hold it tightly
without fearing the consequences. (This way you pass Barfi’s test).
Emotions, the need to be loved truly by the person we desire are the irrepressible
wishes of every human heart and this movie holds this up with aplomb.
Contentment does not come easily and we all
tend to rumble into the world of grief, but with Barfi you celebrate life with all the
goodies that you have in your kitty, without cribbing about what you do not
have. Barfi is devoid of its apologetic
and sympathetic tone that a movie where the characters are deaf, dumb or
disabled usually portrays. It is positivism that the movie has at its core. Do not
dare to miss Barfi as the next big thing in Bollywood, Ranbir, makes you smile,
cry and relish the sweet film with great fervor. Any words of praise won’t
suffice for Ranbir Kapoor. He is just
breathtaking in every frame and his inhibition-free acting makes you roll with
laughter in a movie which has the somber tone very much diluted under the garb
of funny moments.
Hats off Ranbir
Kapoor(aka Barfi)!!
