Billu Barber Movie Review

Billu Barber starring Irfan Khan and Lara Dutta in the lead also has Shahrukh Khan playing a superstar, a role pretty close to his real-life self. Directed by Priyadarshan, Billu Barber is a simple story about Billu (Irrfan Khan) a barber, his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and his two kids. Billu’s life is just like any ordinary man, but it turns upside down when superstar Sahir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) enters his village to shoot for a film.

Back in school days, much before Sahir Khan climbed the ladder of success in the Hindi Film Industry, the now barber and the superstar were childhood friends. The news that Billu is Sahir’s childhood friend spreads like wildfire and suddenly, the barber is now the talk-of-the-village. But does Sahir remember his friend after all the wealth, fame and success that he has achieved since? Watch the movie to find out as Billu Barber is indeed worth a trip to a nearby theatre.

Bilu Barber Review

Popular Priyadarshan films this decade have all mostly been comedies with a tad bit of emotions in the second half. But Billu Barber is different; it’s a realistic take on what could happen when a life of an ordinary barber clashes with that of a hugely popular superstar. Its also about how ordinary people are passionate about their cinematic heroes, who in some way is a part of their lives.

The pace of the pre interval portions is slightly slow, but the film picks up in the second half. But its the last 30 mins of Billu Barber that makes the most impact! The speech delivered by Sahir Khan on stage, is filled with morals on why one should never forget their roots regardless of the heights of success or wealth achieved.

The narration is very entertaining, the 3 songs of SRK with Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor are visually brilliant and placed perfectly. The music is good. Love Mera Hit Hit and Mar Jaani are the pick of the lot. Billu Bhayankar is funny and stays with you long after the credits roll.

Bilu Barber belongs to Irrfan Khan. The highly talented actor is splendid as Billu displaying a huge array of expressions and emotions on screen. Lara Dutta compliments Irrfan pretty well, it has to be her best role to date. Character actors like Om Puri, Ansari, Rajpal Yadav and the others, entertain.

Coming to Shahrukh Khan, he is convincing in the role of Sahir Khan. Playing a character that is very close to his real life self, Khan is surprisingly restrained and delivers an extremely warm performance. This is undoubtedly his best short role in any film so far!

Overall, Billu Barber isn’t an out-n-out comedy but a well directed Priyadarshan film on relationships and emotions. It has something in it for everyone and in particular a must watch for children.

The film is not expected to shatter box-office records, but should open well thanks to SRK’s presence and not to forget the well-promoted songs featuring the hottest female stars in the industry. A lot should depend on the audience verdict too, strong word of mouth should ensure yet another success for SRK and Red Chillies Entertainment!

Rating:

Other Notes – Bilu Barber turned out to be better than I expected it to be. The first half is slow and bores at times, but the second half more than makes up for it. And one of the reasons the film is a must watch is Irrfan Khan, he’s truly brilliant.

SRK has a short role, but he is there in bits and pieces throughout. His screen time should be about 35 – 40 mins, which is great and big enough to warrant a trip to theatre if you happen to be an SRK fan.