Ranbir Kapoor's Barfi! makes Aamir cry
Aamir Khan, who is currently busy shooting for Yash Raj Films’ Dhoom:3 in Chicago, requested UTV Motion Pictures to arrange a special screening of Anurag Basu’s Barfi! for his crew, was overwhelmed after watching it.
A source close to the production house reveals, "A special screening of the Ranbir Kapoor film was organised in Chicago, USA. Aamir and some of the members of the cast of Dhoom:3 watched the film together."
The 3 Idiots (2009) actor and UTV have always shared a great relationship, so when Aamir requested a screening, the makers readily agreed to arrange it in Chicago. Aamir, it seems, was very keen to watch the film since he wasn’t in India around the time of Barfi!’s release.
The source further adds that the film, which has been selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars for the award ceremony to be held in 2013, left Aamir overwhelmed and teary-eyed.
"Aamir thoroughly enjoyed the film. He had tears in his eyes by the end of it. Right from the direction to the performances, he seemed to love every bit of the movie. Even the others who watched it had only good things to say about it," the source adds.
An official from UTV Motion Pictures confirmed the news when we contacted them.
MORE ON BARFI!
On 'copying' from various films
"The maker didn’t conceal that from the audience. In the beginning, it says it’s inspired by Chaplin. Ranbir’s mannerism is Chaplinesque. But what you take away is purely Barfi!. We selected Barfi! because of its treatment and freshness. It leaves you happy and hopeful. There’s no moment of sorrow. And every Oscar movie is about hope and happiness. In any case, every filmmaker is inspired by some cinema or some filmmaker," adds Borah.
Here's a look at the Top 10 scenes that seemed inspired:
I In the scene where Ranbir plans to rob a bank, he plays hide-and-seek with Saurabh Shukla's cop character using a sliding door. The sequence is similar to Charlie Chaplin's 1917 short film, The Adventurer.
II The sequence where Ranbir sits on a sofa with a dummy and tries to entertain Priyanka is also lifted from Singin' in the Rain.
III The ladder sequence at the start of the film looks like a copy from Buster Keaton's 1922 comedy, Cops. The scene shows Ranbir balancing on a ladder while cops try to pull him down.
IV The scene where Barfi is found sleeping under the cover of a statue that is unveiled is lifted from Chaplin's 1931 hit, City Lights.V The bicycle chase scene in Barfi! also seems to be inspired by Jackie Chan's 1983 comedy hit Project A.VI There is a scene in Barfi where Rupa Ganguly, who plays Ileana's mom, tells her about her past lover. It is taken from 2004 romantic drama, The Notebook.
VII Even the end scene where Ranbir and Priyanka die together, sleeping in each other's arms, is directly copied from The Notebook.
VIII The scene where Ranbir walks into a door and his nose gets bent is taken from 1952 American musical comedy Singin' in the Rain.
IX Apart from the scenes, the idea of the film seems to be inspired by 1993 Johnny Depp-starrer, Benny & Joon, which was a film about a mentally ill girl finding love with an eccentric man.
X Pritam's theme tune in Barfi! is also similar to what Yann Tiersen composed for 2001 French comedy, Amélie.Do you think Barfi! is the right choice? Tell us in the poll below:
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CRITICS TAKE
Anupama Chopra's review: Barfi
In Barfi, writer-director Anurag Basu creates a gossamer, fairy-tale world. Sometime in the 1970s, somewhere in the misty hills of Darjeeling, a penniless but irresistibly charming deaf-mute boy named Barfi gets the prettiest girl in town to kiss him.
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Stampede in Bangalore during Barfi promotions
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Ranbir 'Barfi' Kapoor breaks his silence
When Ranbir Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz and Anurag Basu visited the Hindustan Times office last Friday, they were nearly two-and-a-half hours late. But the crowd that had gathered to chat with them at 4.30 pm had not dispersed. They were keen enough to meet the Barfi! team to even delay their Friday evening plans.
(With additional inputs)
