Hi everyone!
I haven't compiled the list of my top ten films of 2012 yet--it's coming soon--but when I do, I can almost guarantee that Anurag Basu's film "Barfi" will be somewhere on the list.
"Barfi" was one of the highest grossing and most critically praised Hindi language films of 2012. Anchored by a star-powered cast led by Ranbir Kapoor (as Barfi) and Priyanka Chopra (as Jhilmil), "Barfi" tells the story of Barfi, a deaf-mute young man from a small village in Darjeeling who falls in love with a beautiful able-bodied woman, Shruti, nicely played by newcomer Ileana D'Cruz, who is--inevitably--engaged to another man. Although Shruti falls in love with Barfi, she knows that a relationship between them will never work. After she returns to Calcutta for her wedding, Barfi reunites with Jhilmil, a young woman with severe autism whom he had known in childhood. And while he still pines for Shruti, Barfi finds himself falling for Jhilmil almost against his will, and thus begins a wholly unconventional love story the likes of which I can't remember ever having seen before.
The strength of this film lies in in the performances of its three lead actors. I've been a fan of Mr. Kapoor's since "Wake Up Sid!" and his portrayal of the deaf-mute Barfi is a wonderful cross of Chaplin-esque physical dexterity and understated emotional sensitivity. Everything Mr. Kapoor conveys about his character is done through facial expression and body language (he has no dialogue) and the result is extraordinary. Equally impressive--in perhaps a showier role--is Ms. Chopra's Jhilmil. Playing a young woman with a particularly debilitating form of autism, Ms. Chopra eschews the glamour she is known for and throws herself into this heartbreaking role. She is almost unrecognizable. Hers is a brave performance (the kind that wins awards--as she has) that occasionally flirts with being perhaps a little too mannered, but I commend her for the audacity of her choices and the depth she brings to the role. If Hollywood took Bollywood more seriously, Ms. Chopra would be one of the 5 best actress nominees at this year's Academy Awards. Finally, Ms Cruz is appropriately charming as Shruti, a pivotal role in the story, but a less flashy character.
The film is not, however, without its faults. The story itself is muddled. I don't know if this has to do with occasionally poor writing or just poor editing, but the decision not to tell the story in linear fashion is a mistake. Barfi and Jhilmil's "road trip" that comprises the lengthy middle section of the film is gorgeous to look at and wonderfully acted, but I was confused by why it was happening in the first place. Early in the film, Barfi's father suffers kidney failure and is hospitalized. Barfi needs to come up with 7,000 rupees to pay for life-saving surgery, money that he does not have. A kidnapping of sorts ensues, the aforementioned road trip, the police get involved, and Shruti reappears in the third act to rekindle the film's central love triangle...but we never learn what happens to Barfi's father. It is as though the filmmakers weren't sure which story they wanted to tell--or what kind of movie they wanted to make--and opted (wisely) to go with the love story.
Having said that, I still highly recommend the film. It takes a while to get going--the opening chase sequence that first introduces Barfi is a bit too slapstick for my tastes, though the homage to Chaplin is nicely apparent--but once the Barfi/Jhilmil/Shruti triangle is established, the 2-1/2 hours flies by to an ending that is wholly satisfying if not perhaps a slight bit predictable.
As an introduction to Hindi cinema, though, "Barfi" succeeds on all levels. Unlike most, while there is music, there isn't a single song-and-dance number which might make this more appealing to more traditional Western cinematic tastes.
"Barfi" is available for streaming on Netflix.
Ciao.
No comments:
Post a Comment