Barfi Review

Soft instrumental music plays in the background. An actor switches between funny expressions and a straight face with ease. He trips over the side walk and he hasn’t got one line of dialogue to speak. While this may seem like a description of a Charlie Chaplin film, it’s also an accurate account of Barfi! Its countless silent film references are just a tip of the iceberg. At its warm gooey heart is a love triangle between a confused young girl, a mute hero and mentally challenged girl. And by the end of it’ll urge you to stand up and give it an old-fashioned applause.

The film opens with an old man crawling out of this bed, setting up the camera and sitting in front of it for a portrait shot. The movie camera zooms into every action and you hardly catch a glimpse of the actor. Until of course the still camera clicks and you realise it is Ranbir Kapoor with grey hair. It’s smart film design and this characteristic runs through Barfi! right till the end. The reason it’s so important is that the camera and the narrative are the fourth and fifth characters of this film. They amplify the emotions and situations of the three lead characters.

The three leads then are the anchors. Ranbir as Barfi is the deaf and mute guy who lives life without handicaps. He falls for Shruti (Ileana D’Cruz) but she’s forever confused if she loves him or not. And then there’s Priyanka Chopra as Jhilmil, who is autistic, Ranbir’s childhood friend and quite possibly the most important character in Barfi! Their love triangle is unlike any you’ve seen before. In particular the odd pairing of Barfi and Jhilmil. Their handicaps aren’t something you sympathize with simply because their unaffected love puts blinders on your eyes. By the time the climax approaches you wish for them to be together.

The reason these characters infiltrate the depths of your emotions is their respective actors’ performances. This is Ileana’s first film but her fantastic performance is just a testament why the Telugu audience consider her a superstar. Of course it also helps that she is the most appealing visual in Barfi! out shining even the scenic hills of Darjeeling. Ranbir Kapoor has proved he’s the actor in town. And Barfi is one more addition to the films we’ll remember him for. Yes his character has inspirations of Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Llyod but Barfi is so much more. He’s the guy who can’t speak a word, yet every line he acts out on screen you are able to read in your mind, even though you don’t know head or tail of sign language. That is the magic of Ranbir and his performance. And then there’s the surprise package of Priyanka Chopra. She looks her part and her rendition of an autistic character is by far the best representation of this condition on Indian celluloid. She breaks your heart, numbs your eyes and makes you smile all in the same breath. 

A key factor why PC is so effective is Anurag Basu’s decision to not give her dialogue. PC literally has less than 10 lines to speak in the whole film and it’s her nervous silence that gives you a heavy heart. Basu also gives his film a jumpy narrative that juggles between present day, 1972 and 1978 with no particular order. This does create complexity but all of it has masterful detail and continuity.

Barfi! is that rare film that can make you smile and make you cry in the same scene. Its technical brilliance is only outdone by its emotional complexity and depth. Pritam’s music adds a nice silent-era charm to this already fantastic story, making it an occasion when words simply aren’t enough.