Climax is worth the wait
By Rama Gaind
THE latest Bollywood film to be screened in Canberra is titled ‘Billu Barber’.
Set in a north Indian village, it tells the story of a village barber, a man of principles, living a simple life and struggling to make ends meet.
He is not prepared to give up his proud values even though it means that his two children can no longer go to school or that his livelihood is being threatened.
As Billu struggles to make ends meet, a film unit comes to the village of Budbuda to shoot a futuristic film. Enter its superstar Sahir Khan – who is Bollywood’s real megastar – Billu’s childhood buddy.
Once the news spreads, the villagers begin to look on Billu with respect. When the locals coax him to arrange a meeting with Sahir, he reluctantly tries to contact the star, but fails.
Director Priyadarshan and writer Mushtaq Sheikh heavily emphasise the stardom and importance of Sahir which is already established. As a result, the characters are not deeply etched and we do not get a concise picture of Billu, his family or the villagers who are responsible for disrupting his life.
‘Billu Barber’ is oddly stolid and lacks passion with everyone simply going through the motions of acting. The film pays homage to Shah Rukh Khan.
In the lead role as Billu is Irrfan Khan and his dutiful wife is played by Lara Dutta.
Irrfan is the real star of this film: his role as a humble and penniless barber wins you over.
The second half gathers momentum and the climax, when the two friends finally meet, is worth the long wait.
In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the colourful musical extravaganza with Sahir displaying some toe-tapping dance moves in three item songs with such glamorous stars as Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone.
This one is for die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fans only!
