Barfi!Before I go on to elaborate the plethora of emotions
this movie churned in me, let me clarify that I am not trying to defend it against charges of
plagiarism or anything. I have no point to make about whether this is a unique
effort in Hindi cinema or any other Indian movie arena whatsoever. This will be
my tale of how I felt when I watched this movie.
The beginning itself was different. Instead of the boring
instructions like “switch of your mobile during the movie and stuff” the
musical instruction of “picture shuru bhai picture shuru” captured my fancy
from the very beginning (not to mention the well worded instruction “picture
mein mobile aur bachey dono off rakhna”:P).Then came the tale of the happy go
lucky murphy aka barfi…..
We have been told time and again a million times to “take
life with a pinch of salt”….but the so called normal people like us never cease
to make a fuss about out troubles and tribulations. And here we came to know a
character that had nothing, not even anything to complain about. Ranbir proves
his mettle as the deaf and dumb Barfi
who goes about his life helping others. The honesty of the character charms you
from the first shot.
All that said and done in infinite reviews so far,
the best part was the fact that it makes you see the poetry in life. The best
dialogue as per my opinion “the greatest risk in life is to not take a risk”
explains it all ….prim and precise bang on the point that was like life in a sentence.
Another thing that I found immensely touching about the movie was that the
saddest of events were depicted with humour.ie.with a pinch of salt as they say.
Let me give you an example…Barfi’s mom’s
passing away depicted in as simple as “radio on hui,amma off hui “….hearing
this you realize its sad,but still you cannot suppress that smile surfacing on
your lips ..can you??
The candidness of some scenes captures your heart. The scene
where Barfi tests Jhilmil(the mentally retarded girl played by Priyanka with
panache) with his conventional let the lamppost fall trick, the way she clings
on to him cozy in the belief that nothing could go wrong as long as she had Barfi
with her, made anyone and everyone hope we all that little island of security wherein we can trust someone with our
lives..well it sure made me hope so.Barfi’s leaving Jhilmil at malathy maasi’s house and turning to find Jhilmil running
after the bus halfway on the way back, warms your heart to no end.Infnite love songs and poetry later,it
does not come simpler that this. Love –pure, sublime and simple could not be exemplified better.Inspite of all the independence and
individual space demands of modernization, the heart never stops seeking that one
person who can be your escape.Does it? J
I loved Barfi for its simplicity, for showing the magic in life.
Life can be whatever we make of it,a tragedy if we make it so or a magic trick
only if we make it so.It lies in our hands and not in the hands of fate as we
tend to say so often. All that and more delivered simply by Anurag Basu and to
the adorable Barfi J
1 comment:
Barfi! has indeed come across as the most refreshing cinematic experience offered by Bollywood this year, which has so far been remorselessly churning out some dredges which can drive the most optimistic man to the point of despair (bright and shining example: Joker). Best bits about the movie: the message, the scenes that at the same time touch your heart with a soft and wrench at it, Pritam's 'hatke' music... yet with all the hype going around, the movie being nominated for oscars and all, I can't help but think that perhaps the oscar nomination was a tad too much (the plagiarism bit notwithstanding). Although Anurag Basu has strung together some beautiful characters together, with heart warming scenes and some retro brand of humour, somehow the cement he chose to bind together all these appears second grade. Another thought: had the central two characters not been deaf and dumb and autistic, i doubt that the success of the movie reached the heights that it has reached. it kinda plays on the naivete of the aam aadmi that a person disabled in some way is granted some sympathy, and if he/she overcomes those barriers to show qualities not normally seen in our daily lives, then, that person is glorified. for example, the ranbir-priyanka scene in front of the sawn lightpost.. let me pose a very logical question: had the girl not been autistic, would her reaction be the same? I rest my case...
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