Barfi! (2012)

Three young people learn that love can neither be defined nor contained by society's definition of normal and abnormal.

Director:

Anurag Basu

Writers:

Anurag Basu (story and screenplay), Tani Basu (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ileana D'Cruz

Top Rated Indian Movies #87 | 58 wins & 28 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ranbir Kapoor	...	Barfii
Priyanka Chopra	...	Jhilmil Chatterjee
Ileana D'Cruz	...	Shruti Sengupta
Saurabh Shukla	...	Sudhanshu Dutta
Rupa Ganguly	...	Shruti's Mother
Ashish Vidyarthi	...	Mr. Chatterjee
Bholaraj Sapkota	...	Bhola
Jishu Sengupta	...	Ranjeet Sengupta
Haradhan Bannerjee	...	Daju (as Haradhan Bandopadhyay)
Akash Khurana	...	Jangbahadur
Arun Bali	...	Jhilmil's Grandfather
Uday Tikekar	...	Shruti's Father
Preiti Mamgain	...	Jhilmil's Mother (as Preeti Mamgain)
Sumona Chakravarti	...	Shruti's Friend
Sujata Sehgal	...	Miss D'Souza

Storyline

Set in the 1970s in a pretty corner of India, Barfi. is the story of three young people who learn that love can neither be defined nor contained by society's norms of normal and abnormal. Barfi, a hearing and speech impaired boy falls in love with Shruti. In spite of her deep affection for Barfii, Shruti gives into societal and parental pressure to marry a 'normal' man and lead a 'normal' life. Many years later their paths cross once again when Barfi, now in love with Jhilmil, is on the run from the police. Barfi is desperately seeking Jhilmil, who has gone missing. Shruti's realization that Jhilmil is autistic makes her recognize that true love is really blind. Caught in a cat and mouse game, in the search for the girl Barfi loves, Shruti realizes that she is still in love with him.

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Plot Keywords:

hill station | autism | character name in title | love | 1970s | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally Katrina Kaif was cast as the narrator in the movie but she pulled out due to unknown reasons. Later, 'Ileana D'Cruz' was roped in to play the role.

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Goofs

The phone number written on the wall ends 362. Later, when Shruti is writing the address on the paper it appears to end 326. @ 2:13:00 in the movie.

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Crazy Credits

Apart the end credits there's a short scene depicting Barfi & Jhilmil's married life.

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Connections

Referenced in I'm Your Hero (2014)

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Soundtracks

Aashiyan
Written by: Swanand Kirkire
Produced by: Pritam Chakraborty
Performed by: Shreya Ghoshal and Nikhil Paul George

User Reviews

When the character is central, and not the hero

It does not revolutionize Bollywood in any way nor is it an example of superlative cinematic brilliance. There are flaws, and lots of them. But, at the same time it's a lesson in the long-lost art of simple filmmaking without being pretentious. The effort is so genuinely heartwarming that it comes out through the characters in the film. I've been extremely critical of Ranbir Kapoor in the past. Maybe he is dumb, but he can surely act! In Junior Kapoor, we do see glimpses of his grandfather. His goofiness is so bloody infectious. He does not play the sympathy-card, he just lets the film carry him along instead of trying what Bollywood heroes desperately try to do - to carry the film on their shoulders. The character is central, not the hero. One of the very few Hindi films I've seen where the audience connects with the character, and not the hero. Ileana is effortlessly sweet and quite unexpectedly brilliant. Saurabh Shukla delivers a standout and stellar performance. The strength of the film lies in the characterisation - so under-toned, and pitch-perfect to counter-balance the trappings of melodrama. The cinematography is breathtaking and so is the music. The visual imagery adds to the emotional quotient of the film. The earnestness of Anurag Basu does suffer a blow because of the predictability of the plot since the temptation of repetitiveness unwittingly underwhelms the magic created in the first half, and, of course, the disappointing performance of Priyanka Chopra. Instead of under-emoting, she overdoes it. Somehow she goes retard trying to portray an autistic girl. Don't judge this film through the prism of cerebral dissection and critical analysis. For once, listen to your heart, not the critics.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

14 September 2012 (India)

Also Known As:

Barfi!

Filming Locations:

Darjeeling, Gorkhaland Territorial Authority, India

Box Office

Budget:

INR300,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,061,713, 16 September 2012

Gross USA:

$2,804,874

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,490,134

Company Credits

Production Co:

UTV Motion Pictures, Ishana Movies

Technical Specs

Runtime:

151 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1