What a year it has been... Remakes [AGNEEPATH, ROWDY RATHORE], rom-coms [EK MAIN AUR EKK TU, VICKY DONOR], biopics [PAAN SINGH TOMAR], thrillers [KAHAANI, JANNAT 2, GOW 1 and 2, JISM 2, EK THA TIGER, RAAZ 3], laughathons [HOUSEFULL 2, BOL BACHCHAN, KYAA SUPER KOOL HAIN HUM], love stories [ISHAQZAADE, COCKTAIL]... The year, so far, has witnessed varied genres finding whole-hearted acceptance from moviegoers. Now BARFI! is creating ripples...
Almost 25 years ago, PUSHPAK, starring Kamal Haasan, was the talk of town, when it was unveiled for the North Indian audiences. Unfortunately, there weren't multiplexes then. The media wasn't aggressive either. The film won rave reviews, but I genuinely feel it didn't get the due it deserved. But BARFI!, another exquisite motion picture like PUSHPAK, comes at a time when there are ample outlets to screen experimental films. Also, the mindset of the moviegoer has changed for better.
Prior to its release, the naysayers within the film industry were skeptical of BARFI! finding acceptance beyond a handful of centres. But the tremendous feedback from those who watched it, the glowing reviews by critics who matter and the fabulous response at the ticket window clearly indicates that BARFI! has been embraced with love and warmth. Ranbir, Priyanka, Ileana, Anurag Basu, Pritam, Ravi Varman... everyone associated with this magnificent film deserves a round of applause. I'd like to single out UTV. For backing an unconventional film like BARFI! [Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur], for marketing it with gusto [Shikha Kapur], for adopting a fantastic release strategy [Gaurav Verma for India and Amrita Pandey for Overseas], this corporate entity definitely deserves my salaam.
A film like BARFI! encourages film-makers to swim against the tide, gives them the courage to defy the stereotype and think out of the box. Most importantly, it gives the audience a choice, which was missing till a few years ago.
