Picture Shuru...Ho gayi Picture Shuru
Picture me aaju baju walo ka khayal rakhna,
Picture me saamne ki kursi pe na pao rakhna
Picture me mobile aur bachhe dono off rakhna
Picture Shuru...Picture Shuru!
The movie took off with the above notice, and certainly brought smiles to the faces of audience, which they kept wearing till the end. Very rarely, do you see a movie, which ends with an applause, a round of cheer by almost everyone present (Not the, Sunny Deol or Salman Khan types). Barfi!, for one, is a part of that privileged genre. Yes, he is deaf and dumb, she is autistic, but the equation they share is unparalleled. Already enough has been said and written about the classic roles essayed by versatile Ranbir, gutsy Priyanka and beautiful Ileana (I loved her Bong Bahu look!), and of course the vision of craft master Anurag Basu (Yes, the same guy who made Kites), but I can't help writing even more. There are moments which leave you smiling, which leaves your eyes moist, but in the end this movie makes you happy!How a person riddled with so many troubles manages to stay happy and give away his signature smile even in the worst of circumstances, makes you forget your miseries. I know, it might sound a bit cheesy, but yes, that's the effect it has!
They deserve all the accolades and the appreciation they are getting, and the audience are loving it. What I hope is, this movie goes on to be a mega hit, just like the Singhams' and Ek Tha Tigers' and the BodyGuards',(in fact it deserves to be much bigger than those), but as I write this I know this is not going to be. If it does, it will certainly motivate the directors, and more importantly the producers to invest in such scripts, the 'hatke' one's, not the so called mainstream cinema. Although there has been a lot of such films making waves (along with money) in the recent past, the likes of Kahaani, Vicky Donor, Wasseypur topping the list.
Succinctly I would say this is impeccable cinema, completely Hollywood material. (May be I am overrating it, but then that's what I feel!)Barfi might give away some traces of Charlie Chaplin, Mr. Beans, or Raj Kapoor but then what matters is, it's simplicity and silence subtly manages to tickle you and touch 'that' corner in your heart!
P.S: Darjeeling is my favorite hill station, and the Chhau Dance sequence was terrific. And yes, I hoped to see the 'Fatafati' number in the end, but alas!
