The late showman of Bollywood, actor Raj Kapoor, was known for his heart-warming take-offs on the iconic Charlie Chaplin in several of his classics. As if paying a ‘silent’ tribute to his grandfather, dude Ranbir Kapoor has unwittingly portrayed a tragic-comic Chaplinesque character called ‘Barfi’, a deaf-mute by birth, yet eloquently expressive.
Enthuses Ranbir, “In our film directed by the maverick genius Anurag Basu, my character is actually called Murphy, derived from the iconic baby-model of that era (70’s). But since he doesn’t know the difference between ‘M’ and ‘B’, he pronounces it ‘Barfi’. Since there are no dialogues for me, it was challenging to convey everything through body language and facial expressions. In his mission of spreading joy and cheer, he indulges in comic antics and crazy pranks. Even when he conveys his romantic overtures to Illeana D’Cruz (also the ‘narrator’) and Priyanka (an autistic girl), he does it with spontaneous gestures, because love needs no language,” chuckles Ranbir.