Billu Barber Review
iView Author: Saurabh Jaiswal (Indore, India)
Email: mail_Saurabh3 [at] yahoo [dot] com
Billu Barber – Worth a watch
The king of comedy , Priyadarshan , is back and this time he has a different story to tell with a different star . This is an another Hindi Remake of a south film afterGhajini that has hit the cinema halls and in my opinion a better one . If Ghajini was a full on Masala film with no story as such , this one on the contrary has a good and different story to tell . Billu Barber has been in news since long before Ghajini and was suppose to release before it but somehow this one got delayed . One always expects entertainment when Priyadarshan’s name comes to mind and if along with Priyadarshan a name like SRK gets associated the expectations tend to rise even more . Though SRK as we know has just a guest appearance sort of role in the film and is there just to add a little bit of commercial entertainment into it .
This one has Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutta in the lead and there is no doubt about it . SRK and the director have highlighted the central character Billu only and in no ways SRK’s character hijacks or take overs the film . Off late SRK’s character’s have grown up on screen and have started talking more like a mature guy . And whether it was his cameo in Luck By Chance or his role in this film of a superstar . Here also he is a mature superstar who is stands firmly on the ground despite all his stardom .
The film is entirely focussed on Billu the Barber and his life in the small villlage of Bud-buda . He has an old barber shop which is running on heavy losses and he some how manages to feed his family . He has a son and a daughter who are also aware of his situation and try toadjust some how . His beautiful wife Lara is also very sweet and doesn’t keep nagging his husband for his failures . Billu faces a strict competition from a modern Saloon and his old “Kesh Kartanalaya” stands no where as compared to the modern saloon . Om Puri who plays a rich “baniya” tries his best to allure Billu to take loan from him and renovate his shop but Billu doesn’t fall to his shrewd tactics . His life is as usual until a superstar , Saahir Khan , decides to come to his village for shooting a film .
The peaceful small village suddenly starts buzzing and suddenly there is surge of people coming into the village from neighbouring places to see the shooting of the film .Billu who knows Saahir from the days when he was in college suddenly comes in the spotlight and everyone in the village starts chasing him and tries to bribe him so that they can meet Saahir Khan . Poor billu falls into this situation against his will and now everyone starts expecting to meet Saahir through Billu . Billu’s shop suddenly becomes a hot spot in village and his fortune takes a u-turn . Billu becomes a star in the village and he in a way gets to see what a star has to face and how people change overnight because of the stardom . He tries all the ways to meet saahir and talk to him but all his efforts go in vain . Well , his stardom finally ends and he faces the humiliation of the villagers . Even his own kids stop talking to him and his shop returns to its previous state . And towards the end something very unexpected happens andSaahir meets Billu revealing everything about their friendship .
The film’s story by Sreenivasan is a real nice one and Priyadarshan very well understood the feel of story and has tried to keep things as simple and real as possible . His treatment was a little different than usual and in the process he makes a nice and simple family film which will appeal to everyone . There is the usualPriyadarshan comedy with his favourites Rajpal Yadav , Om Puri and Asrani . But the one performance amongst these that stood out was that of Atul Parchure who plays a Guest House owner who wishes to be an actor . The sequence where he delivers some lines of a policeman for Saahir’s film leaves everyone in the splits .
The whole film focuses on Irrfan and he gives a fine performance as an unconfident simple and common man . He very well portrays the helplessness of the central character and the trials and tribulations he has to face for the sake of his family’s well being . LaraDutta also gives a fine performance and she looks really beautiful as the simple and beautiful village girl . Irrfan and Lara looked good on screen and even their kids were great . The kids also acted really well and the entire family looked really good on-screen and looked very much real . Lara’s portrayal of a simple village woman was also really sweet and it was nice to see her in such a role .SRK also gave in a good performance and despite his small role he does good .
Priyadarshan needs to complimented for making such a simple and good family film . This was a little different than his usual works and different in a good way . This film has no cliche commercial elements apart from the song and dance sequences havingSRK . The good thing about the film is that despite it being an emotional entertainer has very less of stereotypical scenes and doesn’t have unnecessary crying and dialogue-baazi . It is also not that long a film which comes as plus point for the film . At no point its feels that the film is getting very slow and long . The locations and songs are also good and make it look good visually .
Overall , its a nice film that is worth watching and needs to be appreciated for its different storyline and treatment . Its a feel good film and would not disappoint at all .Irrfan and Lara give a fine performance and Priyadarshan gives a film different from his usual style .
Film Rating : Three and Half out of Five ; definitely worth a watch .
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Average at best. Malayalam version was better.
it was very bad
@ “The sequence where he(Atul Parchure) delivers some lines of a policeman for Saahir’s film leaves everyone in the splits .”
This particular scene is actually not from the Mallu version of Billu, but another Mallu movie of Mammooty called “Ayakiya Ravanan”. The scene is enacted by Innocent (the dead lottery winner in Malaamal Weekly). Innocent was hilarious in that. Here, when Atul Parchure mouths the dialogues, for most of the time, the camera is focussed on SRK, who’s shown as reacting to Atul’s jumbled up dialogues. What was the need? And the worst scene was when Atul opens his mouth for the last take, the villagers (spectators) in the background complete his dialogue in one voice. What a moronic scene! Of course, this scene wasn’t there in the Mallu original. It must have been an ‘inspired’ moment when Priyadarshan thought of it.
This is the problem with Priyadarshan. He just takes funny scenes from various Mallu movies(not just his, but other directors’ as well) and badly recycles them for a Hindi movie.
And then he calls it “Filmed by Priyadarshan”. His English is as third-grade as his direction. No wonder all he could think of as a catchline for Billu was, “It’s special to be ordinary.” Wow! What an inspiring line!
I am a Mallu myself, and I have been a major fan of many Mallu comedies. I have liked a lot of Priyan’s Mallu movies, his “Killukam” (Muskurahat in Hindi) being the best. But I just can’t stand it when a Mallu director stoops to such levels to “make it work” in Hindi.
BTW, the ending of the Mallu Billu was far better than the Hindi Billu. Mammooty looked sincere when he speaks of his past, but SRK doesn’t. And this is the same SRK who gave such a good performance in Chak De!And Swades!
its so good to see an indori on PFC! Great post bro. r u an ex-emerald?
@Saurabh- “One always expects entertainment when Priyadarshan’s name comes to mind and if along with Priyadarshan a name like SRK gets associated the expectations tend to rise even more”
Wow Man, u r a hell of a good writer. I have never read such sarcasm. Till the very end , u dont reveal your true sarcastic side of the article. Hats off yaar!!!! :-)
Thanx Ravi,Mohan,braveheart,magik and shreyansh for ur response .
@Magik , Thanx bro for calling me Indori , feels nice and I am an ex-Paulian . You frm indore?
@Mohan , Loved the passion in your comment man and I am happy you noticed the “filmed by Priyadarshan” which he always uses . And I’ve also noticed that he uses pretty simple title graphics in his films . Don’t know why ? And I’ve not seen the southern versions so can’t comment on that part . But personally I liked the dialogue delivery of Atul in the scenes .
@shreyansh, thanx 4 calling me a gud writer , I hope there was no sarcasm in tht comment [;)]
No offense to any one., but frankly if anyone at PFC writes billu barber is ‘worth a watch’., I think they lack passion for cinema. Billu barber is the most drag, caricature of a film made in recent times. Specially considering if this is as good as it gets for the King khan to produce it.
Just compare that to the sort of films Aamir khan is putting his money behind. SRK hamms all the way through the film. I could not find one good reason for an actor of Irrfan’s calibre to accept such a movie. Perhaps it was SRK cajoling him.
This is the first film in Irrfan’s career that is a let down to his talent and presence. And to top it all I couldn’t beleive SRK quoting in his interview that this is a story oriented one. Huh!!
People like Anurag K, Dibaker banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Aamir khan, Navdeep singh et all do all the hard work to take Indian cinema a few steps forward, then comes along Karan Johar and SRK who drag it back ten steps. And the last thing one expects after all this is a portal like PFC promoting such cartoon of a film advising the readers to watch it.
Seriously I sometimes feel had the average indian grown up watching some decent cartoons, there wouldn’t be need to produce such films with loud comedy, and cheap masala in the name of entertainment.
Coming from the production house of a superstar that is considered to be the Badshah, is this all he wishes his films to be..
@afif – Bang On!!!
I didn’t know what to expect from Billu Barber and I was pleasantly surprised when I watched it. It’s not wrong to call it a story oriented film, if SRK has done so. Sure, his item numbers are very out of place, but the movie itself has a lot of heart. I would love to take my young cousins to watch it – it has that almost fairy-tale like atmosphere.
I’m anyday a bigger fan of Anurag K and Dibakar Banerjee, and I do agree that Rab Ne Paka Di Khopdi did drag “Indian cinema backward 10 steps”, but it was nice to see SRK support a nice little film like Billu, set not in Switzerland or Malaysia but in rural Budbuda.
And Saurabh, if I may make a humble suggestion, a review isn’t supposed to tell the whole story. Just give us the premise. Apart from that, a nice review.
“One always expects entertainment when Priyadarshan’s name comes to mind and if along with Priyadarshan a name like SRK gets associated the expectations tend to rise even more ”
I seriously beg to differ.
absolute crap of a movie !!!
“Here also he is a mature superstar who is stands firmly on the ground despite all his stardom”
Ha ha :D LOL…
@afif:
thanx 4 ur comment . I had a written a long comment in response to urs but then I had second thoughts bcoz everyone has his/her opinion . So I’ll just say that I have no prejudices against any kind of cinema and I hold commercial cinema in equal respect . I don’t know your definition of passion for cinema but I liked the film and I think it deserves to be at least watched once .
@kenny : thnx and sorry . I just don’t know how much to talk abt the story . Maybe I need a good editor who removes some parts . Next time I’ll try to be concise and won’t reveal much .
Thanx kenny , goni , bipin and s for commenting .
Afif- get a life dude.You dont like a movie, fine thats ok.But dont criticise someone else for liking it.PFC is a portal for all kinds of cinema- it doesnt represent any single genre of movies.
When we say passion for cinema- we say we would love to trip on a Pyasa or Bicyle Thieves & at the same time be keen to know how a Billu or a Delhi-6 is.And whats the comparison with Aamir Khan for?
Afif-It’s true that Anurag,Dibakar,Navdeep etc are taking Hindi cinema to greater heights.But do u really think likes of Chopras,Johars,Ghais are doing any great service to Hindi films?I am not saying that Priyan is a great filmmaker,but at least he tries to bring some variety into Hindi film industry.His films are mainly dialogue driven,character driven rather than lavishly picturized song,dance,boy meets girl type of Chopra,Johar films.Coming to Billu Barber it is a simple story and thankfully devoid of usual physical humour associated with earlier Priyan films.For me it was a far far better one than that crap of a movie called Ghajini.
Critics seem to have liked this film.Taran Adarsh has given a positive review,Rajeev Masand also,above all surprise factor was Raja Sen who also have only positive things to say(He usually rips apart Priyan films)
thanx srthumadhavan and Sharath . You both are quite right and I would also like to add that if we take example of UTV , then it is films like “Jodha Akbar” , “Race” , “Kismat Konnection” etc. that give them the strength to support films like “Oye Lucky..” , “A Wednesday” , “Aamir” etc.
I don’t know why the reviews about a movie have to tell the 90% story in their reviews? Had your review missed the 3rd and the 4th paragraph, still we could have understood what you wanted to say. I hate when reviewers try to tell the complete story in their reviews. This is not called a review. It kills the charm of watching movies. Please..focus on writing the reviews apart from telling the 90% of the story.
@Sethumadhavan – yes I agree this is a portal where all kinds of cinema is entertainment and rightfully so. To me cinema is cinema, there is no kind to it, or genre or any branding. It stems from the purpose and vision of a narrator and ends with how truthfully he/she has translated it on screen. I don’t have any bias over commercial or non-commercial cinema. I equally love and revel in both. I loved Munna bhai MBBS which is marketed as commercial cinema. On the other hand I absolutely despise a Ghajini or a Black (very manipulative movie). Art always has to come from within, it cannot be a perception of what the artist thinks others would appreciate.
The reason I despise a Billu is I cannot see the conviction in the narration. It has a heart, but it has a very bad graffiti of commercial caricatures made of characters that we have been dragging for tens of years in the name of comedy/entertainment. Where is the passion tell me. The bottom line for me friends is.. I cannot see Billu barber and agree that it was made passionately. The movie had all the ingredients and actors for the director/writer to apply themselves to the script and come up with the sort of narration that pegs the audience into participation too. Plus had the high pitch adrenaline factor with the SRK tracks weaved around it. But neither was handled well.
Cinema is a very special medium, were the viewer gets the chance to step out of the rut of his daily life, and in those 2-3 hours either revel in escapism, or life the lives of all those on screen and in a small way take a few steps of wisdom.
Regardless of the style or content, if escapism or wisdom or vision., if its not said passionately, it’s not passion for cinema.
Only my two cents worth.
@sharath – I would say Ghajini was marginally better, purely coz Aamir didn’t ham in it atleast. His screen presence and the freshness of Asin at least made me feel its worth one watch albeit a disappointment in a big way to what it should have been made.
@Sethumadhavan – the comparison for Aamir is to show when he puts his money behind a movie, see how endearing stories he has to say. Be it a path breaking TZP, or a commercial caper like JTYJN. He makes sure the heads behind the movie have a strong believe in what they are doing and not merely spinning some tried and tested formula.
@Afif : Now I have to say this , You’ve repeatedly used word passion in all your comments …Just tell me one thing do you want to say that Priyadarshan who has made over 60 films till date and SRK who has worked so hard all his life have no Passion for cinema . Thats why I asked you what is your definition of Passion for cinema ?
Shimit Amin first made Ab Tak 56 but did his passion died when he made a commercially more lucrative Chak De India .
And I am sorry if I have revealed a lot from the plot of the film in my review ..next time I’ll be more careful . …I revealed because by now a lot of you would have watched the film ..still , I’ll be more careful in future .
Yes I think they have lost the passion for cinema some where, hence they have got into auto pilot mode, and keep spinning there wheels.
Chak de was a beautiful film. I don’t understand how do you brand some thing more ‘commercially lucrative’. If its said with honesty, the audience connects.
Yes the platform that drives how many people you connect to depends on the subject you choose.
i personally felt the movie to be superficial, as if the actors are going thru the motion to reach the finishing line. it could be that the support cast knew they didnt have much to do in the climax except to look at billu & sahir khan with an apologetic face. however, the same feeling comes out more natural and ‘connectedi’ in the malyalam original.
for example, asrani’s character has not been developed enough to show his empathy towards billu whn every1 else in the vilalge is shunning him. and all of a sudden, u r made to feel that asrani is the only person who understands him, not even billu’s wife. watch the original to see the “connect”.
priyan, IMO, is ’selling his soul’ by churning out cheap remakes of the regional masterpieces, mainly malyalam, in order to make some quick bucks.
Afif: I think when we talk about passion for cinema it should not miss the masses from it. Shahrukh & Priyadarsan are people who have proven – time again – that they are the people who have the ability to take films to the masses. Passing the passion to the masses who is illiterate and ignorant is not a small task.
When we criticise a good effort like Billu (except those item songs) what we are doing is giving a wrong signal.
@Satyendra: totally agree! I was caught unaware too with Asrani’s character suddenly showing empathy towards Billu. And you are right about the superficiality. The plot so easily could have been dealt with a rustic earthiness, yet it was more a rehearsal with characters made out of stencils.
@Paul: I am all for SRK and Priyan and their brand of cinema. Absolutely loved Hera pheri. Very cool movie. I watched Bhool bhullaiya thrice at the cinemas. That was a full blown commercial jab, but was still entertaining. Film makers employ formulas to play safe and get the crowd in. But when they get a big superstar they are guaranteed an opening., so its more easy for them to narrate something more close to their heart. That is where with SRK by his side, I expected Priyan to come up with the sort of movie that is drawn more from his strengths and less from his past successes. But it seemed like all the characters in Billu Priyan must have written sleep walking.
Billu is a classic embodiment of a director too sure of what he thinks the audience wants. Its like in every scene he is saying., look now I am gonna pull out a joke, and you are gonna laugh out crazy here., look now I am gonna make this emotional, and I know you guys are gonna be at the edge of your seats., ok now I am gonna throw this cool number and you guys are gonna have an adrenaline rush.
And to add to that, lets make this a village back drop, and de-glamorize it., that by default will make it story oriented.
..
And its sad to see exactly how a good part of our audience in some measure falls for it.
nice movie, but got hit by Ghajni