Customer Reviews

Billu Barber

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a movie about a poor village barber (Irrfan Khan) who had mentioned in passing once that he used to be a friend of the biggest Bollywood star (Shahrukh Khan playing a character close to himself). The star comes to the village to film for a movie. Everyone pushes the barber to meet his old friend but the barber keeps avoiding this. Is it because he's ashamed of his poverty or thinks a famous man wont remember him? Or did he ever know him and perhaps made it all up?
The movie's focus is on the barber so while SRK is woven throughout the movie he is very much secondary to the barbers story, and how 'ordinary people' react in various ways to celebrity.
Irrfan does a good job but his wife (Lara Dutta) didn't look that 'villagey' (more like a Bollywood lady dressed as a poor woman).
SRK plays the star appropriately well. He has charisma that is tangible whenever he is on screen. The best parts of the movie for me were the very showy song and dance numbers (done as scenes from the movie being shot). SRK partners with Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in separate big numbers.
If something slipped it from higher potential it was a slowness and repetitiveness at times with people trying to persuade the barber to contact his friend and him dodging that. Another biggie was a speech SRK gives at the end that went on and on to spin into greater absurdity (even for Bollywood).
However the movie's heart is in the right place. It is an entertainer, SRK I find always watchable even when he reaches for some excesses (driven by the script more this time) and the music and dances alone were enough to keep this movie.
Elsewhere on the Net it tends to average around 6-7 out of 10. For me its also a little above average for the dance and music.

This is a simple, highly entertaining, family oriented movie. The plot revolves around the concepts of friendship and life priorities based on values. The song Khudaya Khair is particularly captivating and can be downloaded from Amazon.com Billu Barber (2008) CD. It is impossible to get tired from listening to this beautiful song. This was the second Bollywood movie I ever watched, and its beauty stuck to my mind. Irrfan Khan as Billu steals the show. Lara Dutta fits well the role of a gorgeous and at the same time humble and kind wife. The last scene is obviously sentimental but effective. I do not believe in writing spoilers in reviews, although this certainly is not a movie for those who expect big surprises. Beauty and simplicity in life can go together very well.

How many Chinese Malaysians would give an Indian produced Hindi movie 5 stars? This speaks strongly for one of the best movies I've seen in a long time - in any language. This goes far beyond your typical Bollywood masala to serve up a really touching story about dignity and friendship. Irrfan Khan is a class act and Shah Rukh Khan pokes fun at his screen persona, with some great in-jokes to keep Bollyphiles - and this viewer - very happy and impressed. A real must-see.

'Billu' is a commentary on fame, brought to you by the most famous movie star in the world, Shahrukh Khan. The actor essentially plays himself--a mega-wattage celebrity--whose name is Sahir Khan. Sahir is supposedly the long-lost friend of a humble village barber named Billu, played by character actor par excellence Irrfan Khan. Billu's business is failing because a fancy new hair salon across the street has taken all his customers, who don't want to frequent his dilapidated shop, which he can't afford to fix up, and his young son and daughter are going to get kicked out of school if he doesn't come up with the tuition he's behind on paying. Sahir shoots some scenes for his upcoming movie in Billu's village, rumors spread that Billu knows Sahir, and suddenly Billu becomes a local celebrity, which he reluctantly accepts since his business picks up and his wife (played by Lara Dutta) can hold her head high again. The problem is he can't get past Sahir's security to meet him, and the villagers, including his family, start to doubt if even he knows the star--and they turn on him. Such is the tenuous nature of fame. There's an intentionally sharp contrast between Billu's simple, authentic world and Sahir's glitzy, artificial one, but the contrast is so sharp that it's jarring, and it's exacerbated by the disorienting item numbers.

Some critics of Bollywood (usually Western) mistakenly believe that item numbers (as suggestive dance scenes are called in Bollywood) are superfluous, when in fact they're integral to the movie, but not in the manner that Westerners are used to seeing in Broadway-style musicals. Like nearly all Bollywood musical numbers, item numbers exist not to advance the plot but to express emotion--in this case, bawdy desire. They're a sexy element in films that otherwise don't depict any sex. The lead dancer, called an "item girl," usually doesn't appear in the film otherwise. (Thankfully, we're starting to see more "item boys" these days as well.) That way, the audience can indulge in a little fantasy without thinking less of the heroine (or hero) for being so overtly sexual. The problem with Billu is that the item numbers truly are superfluous because they're item numbers for another film--the film Sahir is making within the film. Therefore, they're confusing interruptions from the story. Which is too bad because at face value, they're examples of spectacular Bollywood item numbers at their best--and loaded with star power no less, with actresses Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor appearing as item girls.

- The Bollywood Ticket: The American guide to Indian movies (Subscribe: The Bollywood Ticket)

A movie like BILLU BARBER belongs to a genre older than movies themselves - about the "Little Man" pushed around by everybody, who suddenly becomes important due to a possible misunderstanding which escalates out of control. The specifics this time are "small-town barber without the funds to compete with his hotshot competitor", "major movie star shooting a movie nearby", "his wife claims Billu knows the movie star (Shahrukh Khan, playing a variant version of himself)". It would be easy to imagine this film made in the Forties or Fifties starring Danny Kaye or Mickey Rooney, wringing every drop of pathos out of the Little Man's temporary rise and inevitable fall before the equally inevitable Happy Ending - fortunately, this film has Irrfan Khan (IN TREATMENT, A MIGHTY HEART, DARJEELING LIMITED), whose wry and proud performance of a man unwilling to trade on a possible friendship no matter how beaten down he is dries out the treacle and makes the film worth watching.

As is usual for Bollywood movies, there are a number of enjoyably elaborate song&dance numbers - mostly for the film Shahrukh Khan is shooting nearby. The movie divides itself between Billu's predicament and Shahrukh's dealing with the locals, all who want something from The Great Man - which he deals with graciously if a bit sardonically. By the end when the two strands converge during a speech Shahrukh delivers at Billu's children's school, the tearjerking feels earned for once thanks to the performances of the two leads.

Billu Barber

In the film, Shahrukh Khan plays himself, bigger than himself, while showing some disdain for his over-the-top and sometimes ridiculous acting fans. We get the impression that he wants to love and respect these fans if they would just give him a chance. Soon, he attracts a following that is reminiscent of the throngs of people in the movei Ghandi.

We are moved to deep sympathy for Billu and his family who are in "bad condition" living in a nice but rundown rural home nearly rupeeless. Thus Billu is ashamed to be seen in this bad condition by his now nearly inaccessible superstar friend Sahir Khan. This is a welcome departure from movies about Indians who live in incredible dwellings, but still struggle with life's issues.

There is a lot of subtle humor in this film that we did not catch the first time through. One example is when Billu (Irrfan) is beset upon by his children to take them to see Sahir at a filming. He turns to his wife Bindya (Lara Dutta) and says something like "see what beautiful children we have". Then, without missing a beat, Bindya acts just like the children by nagging Billu to meet Sahir.

In another scene Bindya, at Billu's request, very reluctantly lies for Billu by telling visiting officials from the school that he is not home when he is actually. Then, later at a wonderful must see waterfall location, where locals are bathing and washing clothes, she willingly tells absolute whoppers about how Billu and Sahir became friends.

Just being Sahir's friend is enough for a large crowd of villagers to hoist Billu up and sing "Billu the Terrible" a song written (in the movie) by a goofy, funny little guy that leads the song from his writing book. Billu's sensible friend calls a halt to the melee and shouts that Billu is just a barber threatening to slap them if they don't stop. There is a momentary pause, then, they go right back to singing Billu the Terrible while hoisting Billu up again. Great song delivered with good humor.

Billu Barber is a heart warming story with good music, good dancing and excellent acting, especially, by Irrfan and Lara Dutta. Khan is his usual self while carrying an amazing presence into Billu's home in the final scene.

This movie is such a great story of friendship - not your typical tale, but rather the effect one person can have on another. It is more a character study and, in my opinion, it succeeds in this. It is rather low key with time devoted to develop the characters, but the songs are good and get you moving. Definitely deserving of 5 stars!

Despite Sharukh Khan's mediocre acting and larger than life personality in almost each and every one of his films, he comes through as a all-around entertainer. I don't think that Shahrukh Khan is a good actor, but he has a charismatic personality that attracts attention, keep an audience loyal. Irfan Khan plays his role beautifully and I personally find him to be a more mature, versatile actor than most of his Bollywood peers. I only gave this film three stars because I tend to be very critical of Bollywood films and actors in general. But this film is a winner and very much enjoyable. Buy it!