Barfi Movie Essay

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It’s tough not to draw parallels between Black and Barfi! with so many striking resemblances, overlapping of themes and equally emotional popular response. Yet, they are at the opposite ends of the spectrum, despite their distinctively different European treatment. If Bhansali and Ravi K Chandran chose to paint their canvas in shades of gothic black, Basu and Ravivarman bathe their film with beatific light. If Black tried to make you cry, this one tries to make you laugh. If Black chose to focus on characters trying to overcome their disability, Barfi! chooses to focus on the characters ability to see the world differently. If Black was about a character battling old-age and schizophrenia and another coming of age, Barfi! is about the return to innocence as the lead characters celebrate their ‘disabilities’. While Barfi (Ranbir) has the ability to put a smile on your face though he can’t talk or hear himself, autistic Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra) sees the world through the wide-eyed innocence of a child. They are not trying to compete in this world or trying hard to prove a point like characters in Black. They are happy living a life together, far away from the madness of materialism of today. Remember the seventies when songs about life used to be about how life was a song? Barfi! totally milks music for old-world charm. It’s the Ranbir Kapoor show all the way as Barfi makes you smile and applaud with his antics without needing a single line of dialogue. It’s a fitting tribute to Charlie Chaplin and his own grandfather Raj Kapoor, the original Indian tramp and he proves once again that he’s the best actor of his generation. Priyanka too is just wonderfully restrained for most parts. However, the best portions of the film do not belong to their story. Their scenes together look blatantly cutesy and manufactured. Almost like Basu wants to

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