Barfi! is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Anurag Basu, and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under UTV Motion Pictures. The first UTV project to be released under the Disney·UTV brand, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'Cruz (in her Hindi film debut) with Saurabh Shukla, Ashish Vidyarthi, Jisshu Sengupta, Roopa Ganguly and Haradhan Bandopadhyay in supporting roles. Set in Darjeeling, Kolkata and Jalandhar of the 1970s, the film focuses on Barfi (Kapoor), a deaf-mute young man based in Darjeeling, and his relationships with two girls, the beautiful Shruti (D'Cruz) and the autistic Jhilmil (Chopra).
Made on a budget of ₹35 crore, Barfi! was released on 14 September 2012. The film received widespread critical acclaim for the cast performances, direction, screenplay, cinematography, music and the portrayal of physically disabled people. It was a major commercial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of 2012 in India and overseas, grossing crore worldwide. Since its release, Barfi! is remembered for its refreshing story, soundtrack, performances of the cast, and feel-good factor.
The film was selected as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film nomination for the 85th Academy Awards. Barfi! won several awards and nominations at various award ceremonies across India. At the 58th Filmfare Awards, Barfi! received 12 nominations including Best Director (Basu), Best Actress (Chopra) and Best Supporting Actress (D'Cruz), and won 7 awards including Best Film, Best Actor (Kapoor), Best Female Debut (D'Cruz) and Best Music Director (Pritam).
Plot In 1972 in Darjeeling, Murphy, universally known as Barfi, is a charming and optimistic young man born deaf and mute. Raised by his father, Jungbahadur, a humble chauffeur, after his mother's death during childbirth, Barfi develops into a notorious local troublemaker whose whimsical antics frequently leave him fleeing the local police chief, Inspector Sudhanshu Dutta. Barfi's life changes when he crosses paths with Shruti Ghosh, an educated young woman who has recently arrived in town. Although Shruti is engaged to be married, she quickly falls in love with the smitten Barfi. Her mother intervenes, warning her that Barfi’s lack of wealth and physical disabilities would make a stable future impossible. Reluctantly yielding to her mother's pragmatism, Shruti breaks off contact, marries her fiancé, and leaves Darjeeling.
Sometime later, Jungbahadur suffers from severe kidney failure, leaving Barfi desperate to raise ₹7,000 for his life-saving surgery. Following a botched, chaotic attempt to rob a local bank, Barfi turns to a desperate alternative: kidnapping his autistic childhood friend, Jhilmil Chatterjee, who is the wealthy heiress to her grandfather's fortune. When Barfi arrives at her estate, he discovers that Jhilmil has already been abducted by professional criminals, prompting her corrupt father, Durjoy, to arrange a ₹50,000 ransom. While evading Inspector Dutta after the bank robbery, Barfi spots Jhilmil trapped inside a getaway van. He sneaks aboard, drives the van away, and shelters Jhilmil in his apartment. Barfi issues a scaled-down ransom note for ₹7,000 to Durjoy, collects the cash, and races to the hospital, only to discover that his father passed away just before the payment could be processed. Devastated, Barfi attempts to leave Jhilmil at her old caretaker’s village, but she adamantly refuses to leave his side. Recognizing her deep emotional attachment to him, Barfi takes Jhilmil to Kolkata, assuming full responsibility for her well-being.
In 1978, Barfi and Shruti happen to cross paths and reunite in Kolkata. Shruti, trapped in an unhappy marriage, rekindles her close bond with Barfi. This sudden intimacy triggers intense anxiety and jealousy in Jhilmil, who abruptly vanishes into the sprawling city. When a frantic Shruti files a missing person report, Inspector Dutta tracks the lead from Darjeeling, leading to Barfi's immediate arrest under suspicion of foul play. Shruti's relentless efforts to legally defend Barfi estrange her husband, who permanently abandons her. During Barfi's interrogation, a new ransom demand is made in Darjeeling, and Jhilmil is seemingly killed during a botched exchange, though her body is never recovered. Inspector Dutta is deeply perplexed as to why a ransom note would materialize in Darjeeling for a girl who had been residing secretly in Kolkata for over half a decade. Eager to close the high-profile case, the police administration prepares to frame Barfi for Jhilmil's murder. However, Inspector Dutta, who has grown genuinely fond of Barfi over years of investigation, quietly releases him to Shruti, urging them to start over. Shruti complies, secretly hoping that with Jhilmil gone, she can finally build a life with Barfi.
Barfi, however, is completely broken by Jhilmil’s absence, rendering his life with Shruti empty and unfulfilled. Driven by intuition, he deciphers Jhilmil's old wall scribbles to locate her childhood care home. He takes Shruti along to investigate, leading to a major revelation: Jhilmil is alive. Her initial abduction had been staged by her own father to embezzle money from her trust fund. In the second instance, Jhilmil's father colluded with the caretakers of her former foster home to fake her death. This allowed Jhilmil to return to a safe environment away from her abusive, alcoholic mother, while her father successfully liquidated the remaining estate left behind by her late grandfather. Witnessing their profound bond, Shruti steps aside as Barfi and Jhilmil happily reunite and marry, spending the rest of her life alone but finding solace in their happiness.
In 2012, an elderly Barfi lies dying in a hospital room. Jhilmil arrives at his bedside and climbs in to hold him, and the two pass away peacefully at the exact same moment, completely inseparable in both life and death.
Cast Ranbir Kapoor as Murphy (a.k.a. Barfi) who is an optimistic, street-smart, charming young man who was born deaf and mute to a couple in Darjeeling Priyanka Chopra as Jhilmil Chatterjee Ileana D'Cruz as Shruti Ghosh Sengupta Saurabh Shukla as Inspector Sudhanshu Dutta Ashish Vidyarthi as Durjoy Chatterjee: Jhilmil's father Sumona Chakravarti as Piyali: Shruti's friend Jisshu Sengupta as Ranjeet Sengupta: Shruti's fiancé-turned-husband Roopa Ganguly as Mrs. Ghosh: Shruti's mother Uday Tikekar as Mr. Ghosh: Shruti's father Haradhan Bandopadhyay as Daju: Jhilmil's special-care homeowner Arun Bali as Nanaji: Jhilmil's maternal grandfather Preeti Mamgain as Mrs. Chatterjee: Jhilmil's mother Akash Khurana as Jungbahadur Chhetri: Barfi's father Kenneth Desai as Senior Inspector Rajeev Mishra as Inspector Dutta's assistant Bholaraj Sapkota as Bhola: Barfi's friend Sujata Sehgal as Ms. D'Souza: founding member of Jhilmil's special-care home
Production Development
During the production of his previous directorial venture Kites (2010), director Anurag Basu wrote a two-page short story which was later developed into the script of Barfi!. The film script that Basu wrote alternated between two time periods, and he retained the nonlinear narrative structure. He said that the script required a 30-year time span for the characters' love to grow and thus set the backdrop of the film in the 1970s.
In June 2010, Anurag Basu confirmed that his film would feature three lead roles, a deaf-mute man, a mentally challenged girl, and a narrator. With former titles like Khamoshi or Silence, media reports said the story was grim or dark. However, Basu stated that on the contrary, the film was happy. According to Basu, he paid homage to Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin by adding scenes inspired by the era of silent cinema and using physical comedy in the film, involving silent portions.
Casting
In March 2010, it was reported that Ranbir Kapoor and Asin Thottumkal were signed to play the lead roles in the film before being replaced by Katrina Kaif then titled Khamoshi and later Silence, which Basu confirmed.
Basu wanted to cast Asin Thottumkal for the role of Jhilmil, an autistic girl.Barfi! Bonus Disc: The Making of Barfi!. Event occurs at approximately 13:40 Basu's wife, Tani suggested Chopra's name for the role. However, Basu feared that the audience would see "the Priyanka Chopra" and not the character due to Chopra's stardom. Basu explained "I had the fear that I would see Priyanka Chopra in the character and Jhilmil wouldn't work. This has happened in many films where known faces have harmed the character." Priyanka Chopra was cast to play the part but, the development was not announced as Basu wanted to workshop first and see how it goes. After three days of workshop, Basu was convinced that Chopra could play the part and reflected that he was glad that he chose Chopra for the role. Later, Basu revealed that he did not approach any actress after Chopra for the part.
After Chopra was cast in the film, Kaif left the project for unknown reasons. Media reported that she may have opted out of the film because Chopra had been given a stronger role. Later, media reported that Asin Thottumkal was approached to play the role of the narrator once again, replacing Kaif. However, Asin refused the offer due to date clashes. Media reported that no other actress wanted to sign for the film because according to them, Chopra's part was stronger. In July 2010, Mumbai Mirror reported that Chopra was ready to play the role of narrator, so that another actress could be cast in the film as she did not want the film to stall. Basu confirmed this development and said, "It's true we've been unable to cast the other part." After facing several casting problems, Basu chose to cast a completely new fresh face to play the second female role. In early December 2010, Ileana D'Cruz, an actress who worked in Telugu films, was finalised for the second female lead, featuring as narrator and Kapoor's first love interest in the film, thus making her debut in Bollywood with the film.
Characters
Kapoor played the role of a deaf and mute man in the film. According to Kapoor, he took inspiration from screen legends such as Roberto Benigni, Charlie Chaplin and his grandfather Raj Kapoor.Barfi! Bonus Disc: The Making of Barfi!. Event occurs at approximately 10:30 Due to the protagonist's physical disability, Basu did not want to use any sign language but, some behavioural patterns in the film.Barfi! Bonus Disc: The Making of Barfi!. Event occurs at approximately 12:20 Kapoor described his character as a regular, happy-go-lucky and good-hearted guy.Barfi! Bonus Disc: The Making of Barfi!. Event occurs at approximately 9:07
Chopra played the role of Jhilmil. Basu described Chopra's role as the "toughest" in the film. To prepare for the role, Chopra visited several mental institutions and spent time with autistic people. She said she had to research a little for the role because in India awareness about autism is very low. Chopra told that she had to let go of every inhibition probably that she had as a Hindi film heroine and play Jhilmil without thinking of it. She explained that she needed two moments to become Jhilmil because she didn't identify with her character due to the difference between her thoughts and behaviour.Barfi! Bonus Disc: The Making of Barfi!. Event occurs at approximately 17:35
D'cruz, who portrayed the narrator and first love interest of the protagonist said "Shruti, is such a sensitive role to play as she goes to different phases in the film."Barfi! Bonus Disc: The Making of Barfi!. Event occurs at approximately 19:55