Billu Barber — Movie Review

Originally Published on PassionforCinema

The king of comedy , Priyadarshan , is back and this time he has a different story to tell with a different star . This is an another Hindi Remake of a south film after Ghajini that has hit the cinema halls and in my opinion a better one . If Ghajini was a full on Masala film with no story as such , this one on the contrary has a good and different story to tell . Billu Barber has been in news since long before Ghajini and was suppose to release before it but somehow this one got delayed . One always expects entertainment when Priyadarshan’s name comes to mind and if along with Priyadarshan a name like SRK gets associated the expectations tend to rise even more . Though SRK as we know has just a guest appearance sort of role in the film and is there just to add a little bit of commercial entertainment into it .

This one has Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutta in the lead and there is no doubt about it . SRK and the director have highlighted the central character Billu only and in no ways SRK’s character hijacks or take overs the film . Off late SRK’s character’s have grown up on screen and have started talking more like a mature guy . And whether it was his cameo in Luck By Chance or his role in this film of a superstar . Here also he is a mature superstar who is stands firmly on the ground despite all his stardom .

The film is entirely focussed on Billu the Barber and his life in the small villlage of Bud-buda . He has an old barber shop which is running on heavy losses and he some how manages to feed his family . He has a son and a daughter who are also aware of his situation and try to adjust some how . His beautiful wife Lara is also very sweet and doesn’t keep nagging his husband for his failures . Billu faces a strict competition from a modern Saloon and his old “Kesh Kartanalaya” stands no where as compared to the modern saloon . Om Puri who plays a rich “baniya” tries his best to allure Billu to take loan from him and renovate his shop but Billu doesn’t fall to his shrewd tactics . His life is as usual until a superstar , Saahir Khan , decides to come to his village for shooting a film .

The peaceful small village suddenly starts buzzing and suddenly there is surge of people coming into the village from neighbouring places to see the shooting of the film . Billu who knows Saahir from the days when he was in college suddenly comes in the spotlight and everyone in the village starts chasing him and tries to bribe him so that they can meet Saahir Khan . Poor billu falls into this situation against his will and now everyone starts expecting to meet Saahir through Billu . Billu’s shop suddenly becomes a hot spot in village and his fortune takes a u-turn . Billu becomes a star in the village and he in a way gets to see what a star has to face and how people change overnight because of the stardom . He tries all the ways to meet saahir and talk to him but all his efforts go in vain . Well , his stardom finally ends and he faces the humiliation of the villagers . Even his own kids stop talking to him and his shop returns to its previous state . And towards the end something very unexpected happens and Saahir meets Billu revealing everything about their friendship .

The film’s story by Sreenivasan is a real nice one and Priyadarshan very well understood the feel of story and has tried to keep things as simple and real as possible . His treatment was a little different than usual and in the process he makes a nice and simple family film which will appeal to everyone . There is the usual Priyadarshan comedy with his favourites Rajpal Yadav , Om Puri and Asrani . But the one performance amongst these that stood out was that of Atul Parchure who plays a Guest House owner who wishes to be an actor . The sequence where he delivers some lines of a policeman for Saahir’s film leaves everyone in the splits .

The whole film focuses on Irrfan and he gives a fine performance as an unconfident simple and common man . He very well portrays the helplessness of the central character and the trials and tribulations he has to face for the sake of his family’s well being . Lara Dutta also gives a fine performance and she looks really beautiful as the simple and beautiful village girl . Irrfan and Lara looked good on screen and even their kids were great . The kids also acted really well and the entire family looked really good on-screen and looked very much real . Lara’s portrayal of a simple village woman was also really sweet and it was nice to see her in such a role . SRK also gave in a good performance and despite his small role he does good .

Priyadarshan needs to complimented for making such a simple and good family film . This was a little different than his usual works and different in a good way . This film has no cliche commercial elements apart from the song and dance sequences having SRK . The good thing about the film is that despite it being an emotional entertainer has very less of stereotypical scenes and doesn’t have unnecessary crying and dialogue-baazi . It is also not that long a film which comes as plus point for the film . At no point its feels that the film is getting very slow and long . The locations and songs are also good and make it look good visually .

Overall , its a nice film that is worth watching and needs to be appreciated for its different storyline and treatment . Its a feel good film and would not disappoint at all . Irrfan and Lara give a fine performance and Priyadarshan gives a film different from his usual style .

Film Rating : Three and Half out of Five Stars ; definitely worth a watch .

Billu Barber — Music Review

The long awaited film of Priyadarshan and SRK that starrs Irrfan Khan in the lead , Billu Barber , is finally ready for release and the music of the film is out now . The film has been produced by SRK’s Red Chillies Productions and that means this project means more to SRK than anyone else . This film is again a remake of a south film which has been already made twice in Malayalam and Telugu . The Telugu version called Kuselan recently released having Rajnikant playing the part which SRK is playing . The film still failed at the box office and its failure raised some concerns for SRK and hence this film also got delayed . The original Malayalam version , Katha Parayumpol and the telegu version both have been written by Sreenivasan . Billu Barber was first supposed to release before RNBDJ but got delayed and now it is releasing in February . The film also stars Lara Dutta and several other Priyadarshan’s usual like Om Puri and Rajpal Yadav etc.

Well ,Talking of soundtrack , it consists of Fifteen Tracks in total out of which Seven are original and eight being remixes . The remixes again outnumber the originals on the soundtrack but good thing is that some of those have been sung by different singers so sound a little different . This time it is Pritam who has done the job and lyrics are by various artists . The soundtrack is for its majority a commercial one and when it comes to commercial music there is no one better than Pritam for the job .

The first track on the soundtrack is , Marjaani , which is already on-air and generating the hype for the film . The song as you all now has Kareena in it along with SRK and has some usual fun and frolic . The lyrics on this one are by Gulzaar and are as expected good enough to make this song a hit . The lyrics and music together give it a popular feel and the song would work for sure among the listeners . Sukhwinder and Sunidhi do a good job as usual and Sukhwinder is one more reason why this song could get popular .

Next comes , Love mera Hit Hit , sung by Neeraj Shridhar and Tulsi Kumar . The lyrics on this one are by Ashish Pandit and Mayur Puri who do a good job and made the lyrics pretty catchy . Pritam also does a good job and gives it a commercial tune which makes the song even more catchy and makes it a potential hit . This one starrs Deepika Padukone and SRK , shaking legs together . Neeraj sings it in his usual style with Tulsi giving him good support .

The third and the final track which again has a guest appearance of Priyanka Chopra in it , You Get Me Rockin and Reelin , is a a little on the slower and sensual side . The song has Priyanka and SRK getting cosy and trying to set the screen on fire . If you don’t know then let me tell you that all these three songs are a part of a film which is shown to be shot in Billu’s village . Since these songs are shown a part of a film in the film itself the Director has made an effort to keep the songs as commercial as possible because SRK is shown as a commercial superstar in the film . Still , this song is pretty melodious and doesn’t sound like usual commercial songs . Neeraj does a fine job singing this one and makes sure that it sounds different . The lyrics on this one are by Sayyed Quadri who does a good job .

After this comes a very very commercial track , Ae Aa O , which would look good in the film only and would make more sense in the film . The song would probably be featured when SRK first comes to the village and it would be somewhat of a introductory song . The lyrics on this one are by Neeraj Sridhar and it has been sung by KK ,Rana Mazumder & Suraj . The song in all is more film oriented and doesn’t make much sense apart from it . KK surprisingly has been offered such an average track which anyone could have done .

The fifth track , Jaoon Kahan , is completely different from the previous four and is a sad song which has been written by Sayeed Quadri who does a great job on this one . The song features Irrfan Khan who as we all know is a brilliant actor so he might make you feel really sad through his acting . The lyrics are really good on this and  reminds of “Jag Soona Soona Lage” from Om Shanti Om . Like that one this has been also sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan who again does a great job . Pritam has also done a good job and given it a nice and simple tune . The song is a complete package of good lyrics , music and singing . Such songs gain popularity much more after the film releases and I am sure with the release of the film this one also would get much more popular .

Next comes a very different and Desi track , Billu Bhayankar . This one has some very interesting piece of lyrics written by Gulzaar Sir himself and he again proves his expertise in the “Thainth Desi” language after songs like Kajrare and Bidi Jalayle . This one though is not a item song like the previous two but that doesn’t mean that it lacks any fun . This one is a fun track from the word go and would be real treat on screen , I am pretty sure about that . The track talks about Billu Hajam the central character . This track would definately remind you of  Khaike Pan Banaras Waala which had a similar feel . Pritam has done full justice to the song and given it a very pure desi tune to it . The biggest role in such songs as you know is of the singer and his/her accent . And on that front Ajay Jhingaran , Raghuveer and Kalpana do a commendable job .

Next comes probably the most melodious and lyrically rich song , Khudaya Khair . This one has been written by Gulzaar Sir . This song and the third track on the album , You get me rocking , have somewhat same lyrics and I don’t know which one is the original one . Still , this one is much more melodious and some extra lyrics in this one that are there add much more to its beauty . If that one had a little western feel to it , this one has none . Pritam has done his best on this as compared to the other songs on the album . The female parts that have been sung by Akriti and Monali sound really good . Soham does a good job singing the male parts but for me Neeraj would have suited much more . This is the song that was there in the first trailer of the film and I am sure this one would be featured on Lara Dutta (my favourite) who is looking really beautiful in the promos . I am happy that she got the best track on the album .

Then starts the series of Remixes and first one is the Video Edit of Rockin n Reelin . I didn’t find this one any different from the original one in terms of music . This one though has Dominc Cezaro siniging some female parts . If you remember Dominic made her debut in Rock On with ” Yeh Tumhari Meri Baatein “. She does her part well . Rest all is the same .

Then come remix versions of “Love Mera Hit Hit” and “Marjaani” which have been remixed by DJ Amyth and Kilogram K&G respectively . Both the remix versions have usual fast pace tempo and some extra english lyrics . Nothing great about them as such and good for clubs and discs . The remix version of Mar Jaani has been sung by KK and Akriti Kakkar so KK fans won’t get disappointed .

Next comes a reprise edition of “Khudaya Khair” which has Abhijeet giving vocals and rest all is the same . The song doesn’t suit him that much as much it did to Neeraj and Soham . This one being a reprise edition is a little slow . If this was not enough there is one more remix of “You Get Me rockin n reeling” which again is a basic remix with higher tempo and usual DJing .

Then there is a remix of Ae Aa O , I don’t know why . The original track itself was a little weak so this one doesn’t make any difference . One more Marjaani by DJ Sunil and Spinz who remix the original track and do a good job . This is the pick among the remixes . Then there is a remix of Love Mera Hit Hit which is better than the previous remix of the same song .

In all , its a nice soundtrack with a mix of commercial tracks and good tracks like Khudaya and Jaoon Kahan . It also has very different tracks like Billu Bhayankar . The only thing that was a put off was the long list of unnecessary remixes that made me change my mind for rating the album . I was going to give it a four stars but the irritating remixes which are just too many made me change my rating . In all , the soundtrack has increased my curiosity for the film and I am now even more eagerly waiting for the film . The film in my opinion would be a nice film that would be liked by all .

Album Rating : Three and Half Stars out of Five ; Great soundtrack with a nice mix of different songs .

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