Barfi! is a 2012 Indian romantic comedy film written and directed by Anurag Basu. It tells the story of "Barfi", a mute and deaf boy inDarjeeling, West Bengal and his relation with two girls, one of whom is autistic. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'Cruz in lead roles.
Made on a budget of 
30 crore (US$5.43 million),[3] the film was released on 14 September 2012 across 1300 screens in India. Basu later announced that he planned an English language version of the film.[4] The film was praised for showing positive portrayal of the differently abled in films.[5] The film will be sent as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film nomination for the 85th Academy Awardsin February 2013.[6]
30 crore (US$5.43 million),[3] the film was released on 14 September 2012 across 1300 screens in India. Basu later announced that he planned an English language version of the film.[4] The film was praised for showing positive portrayal of the differently abled in films.[5] The film will be sent as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film nomination for the 85th Academy Awardsin February 2013.[6]Plot
The story unfolds through a series of flashbacks and has three distinct timelines.
1972
Murphy "Barfi" Johnson (Ranbir Kapoor) was born deaf-mute and lost his mother as a baby, his father raised him alone, working as a chauffeur in Darjeeling. Barfi meets Shruti Ghosh (Ileana D'Cruz) who has just arrived in the city and is engaged to be married in three month's time and is immediately smitten. He wins her heart but Shruti is dissuaded from pursuing him by her mother. Shruti gets married and moves to Kolkata. Meanwhile, Barfi's father falls ill and he must raise the money for his treatment. After an unsuccessful attempt to rob a local bank, he attempts to kidnap his childhood friend, Jhilmil Chatterjee (Priyanka Chopra), the autistic grand-daughter of a wealthy man who passed away leaving all his money to a trust in her name, with her parents on salary; in order to hold her for ransom, however he finds her already kidnapped. Sneaking aboard a van he spots her in, Barfi drives Jhilmil away from the real ransom delivery and hides her in his apartment with the police in pursuit of them. Barfi collects the ransom but finds that his father has passed away as he makes the payment. Dejected, he tries to leave Jhilmil at the village of her caretaker but she refuses to leave him and they soon move to Kolkata.
1978
Barfi happens to meet Shruti again. She is unhappy with her marriage and they rekindle their friendship much to the chagrin of the lovestruck Jhilmil who then goes missing. Shruti files a missing persons report for Jhilmil. The Darjeeling police learn about the report and resume their pursuit of Barfi and arrest him. As he is interrogated another ransom demand for Jhilmil is made and she is apparently killed in the process of the exchange though her body is never found. In order to wrap up the case, the police attempt to frame Barfi for the murder. The investigating officer (Saurabh Shukla) who had been pursing Barfi all these years takes pity on him and asks Shruti to take him away, offering him a second chance at life, to which she agrees hoping to be with her true love. Barfi is deeply affected by Jhilmil's loss and finds living with Shruti unfulfilling. He deduces the location of the home where Jhilmil had spent her childhood and takes Shruti to go look for her. It is revealed that Jhilmil is alive, both kidnappings having been fabricated as a means for her father to embezzle money from the trust fund in her name, though the second time they fake her death so that she may return to her special care home, away from the clutches of her alcoholic mother. Barfi is re-united with Jhilmil and they marry while Shruti spends the rest of her days alone, regretting having lost her opportunity to be with Barfi when she could have.
Present day
Burfi is close to death in a hospital. The film closes with Jhilmil lying with Barfi in his hospital bed as Shruti re-iterates in the narration her childhood wish of living her life with her true love and passing away together.
Cast
- Ranbir Kapoor as Murphy "Barfi" Johnson, is a deaf and mute local boy of Darjeeling, who is a charmer. He creates nuisance for local police every now and then.
- Priyanka Chopra as Jhilmil Chatterjee, is an autistic girl, who has a drunk mother, and an angry father who couldn't accept her daughter being autistic in society.They drop her to a special care home, Muskkan. Her grandfather loves her and names her successor of his money.
- Ileana D'Cruz as Shruti Ghosh/Sengupta, Barfi's past love. She loves him but can't accept or show guts to live with him.
- Rupa Ganguly as Shruti's mother.
- Ashish Vidyarthi as Mr. Chakraborty, Jhilmil's Father
- Saurabh Shukla as a local police officer, who constantly chases Barfi for the nuisance he created;though he has a soft corner for him.
- Sumona Chakravarti
- Rahul Garg
- Bhola Raja Sapkota as Murphy's friend
- Jishu Sengupta as Ranjit Sengupta
Critical reception
| [hide] Professional reviews | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| DNA India |   |
| The Times of India | |
| Bollywood Hungama |  |
| CNN-IBN | |
| Rediff | |
| Hindustan Times | |
| The Indian Express | |
The film received mostly positive reviews. Review aggregator reviewGang aggregated 7.5 out of 10 stars based on 11 professional critics.[22]
Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave 3 out of 5 stars and said "Barfi had the potential to be great cinema, but as it stands it's a respectable film that's still better than a lot else you're likely to see."[23] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said, "Barfi is akin to a whiff of fresh air. Its foremost triumph is that it leaves you with a powerful emotion: Happiness!"[24] Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India gave the film a 4.5/5 rating and said, "Ranbir, in the most challenging performance of his career leaves us 'dumbstruck'. Without use of conventional crutches of cool-catchphrases, dhamaakedar-dialogbaazi, bare-bodies, and other 'items'; he stuns you in every single frame. For Priyanka, there's only one word - Bravo! In a role where she needs to under-emote, she does so brilliantly."[25] Raja Sen for Rediff.com has given 3.5/5 stars and opined "Barfi! is a well-crafted script with an intriguing back-and-forth narrative but it all goes south towards the end."[26] Blessy Chettiar from Dnaindia.com stated, "Barfi! leaves you teary-eyed yet happy." She gave a 4.5/5 rating.
Soumyadipta Banerjee for In.com rated the film 4.5 stars out of 5. He said, "Barfi is a masterpiece comparable to India's best films."[28] Udita Jhunjhunwala of businessofcinema.com says "Barfi! is a must watch because of the stellar performances. Priyanka Chopra is truly surprising as she keeps the reigns pulled in on her role and touches you with the vulnerability of this woman trapped in a girl's mind. Ileana D'Cruz is self-assured in her role as a woman who knows she has to pay the price for an ill-advised decision. As for Ranbir Kapoor – he owns the part of Barfi, infusing it with infectious joie de vivre and innocence. With Barfi! he reinforces his rising credentials as an actor of immense talent." Independent Bollywood gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and said, "Watch this one for Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra."[
Box office
Domestic
Barfi! had a strong start at multiplexes all over whereas single screens had lower opening because of limited release. The film grossed 8.56 crore (US$1.55 million) on its opening day. Its second day collections were around 11.50 crore (US$2.08 million). The film had an excellent weekend, taking in 34 crore (US$6.15 million). In its first week, Barfi! collected 57.50 crore (US$10.41 million) nett.
8.56 crore (US$1.55 million) on its opening day. Its second day collections were around 11.50 crore (US$2.08 million). The film had an excellent weekend, taking in 34 crore (US$6.15 million). In its first week, Barfi! collected 57.50 crore (US$10.41 million) nett.
