MUMBAI: After ‘Anjaana Anjaani’, Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor have teamed up once again for Anurag Basu’s ‘Barfi!’. While Ranbir Kapoor is playing a deaf and mute boy, Priyanka will be seen as an autistic girl.
However, putting aside any apprehensions that this will be a sad tale, the lead pair claims that despite such characters audiences will not see any "disability" in the film.
"When we meet differently-abled people, we always have a view point that they live a dark, sorrowful life. But this is not a film about that. They also smile, laugh, they fall in love, enjoy themselves. This is that side of their lives… I don’t think, after a while you will remember that these characters have disability,” says Priyanka.
"Whatever disability you see right now, you will not feel in the film. We are normal characters. Priyanka is playing an autistic girl in the film, but she is like this cute puppy dog who you will fall in love with. You will not see the disability," further explained Ranbir.
While Kapoor sees his co star as an endearing puppy dog, Priyanka is not too far behind in her admiration. Calling the character "really adorable" in the film, she adds that "he will make you laugh and you will want to be him".
Elaborating on the role, Ranbir said "the name is actually Murphy but because he is deaf and mute, he says it as Barfi. They cannot see the difference between letters M and B. He is happy-go-lucky. It is set in the 1970s, it’s a romantic comedy. He has a big house, and his purpose in life is to make people happy. Even in his sorrows, you will see a sense of comedy and happiness. This is his motive in life," said Ranbir.
Meanwhile Priyanka hopes she has justified director Anurag Basu’s vision. "I thought Jhilmil will be difficult. Initially, it was difficult. Now that my heart is with Jhilmil, It is a very special character and I hope you like it. It is my most endearing character."
Ofcourse playing a disabled character would not have been a cake-walk for either of the actors, inspite of their previous stellar performances in ‘Rockstar’ or ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’. Agrees Ranbir, "When he (Basu) narrated the script to me, I thought I will really have to work a lot for this and I will have to learn sign language and all. But he was very clear to me. He told me that this was not a film to show off my acting abilities. He wanted it to be relatable. Everyone should understand the film. Charlie Chaplin was an inspiration, but we have not tried to replicate it. I am Raj Kapoor’s grandson, so it will have some effect as well," he said.
Co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapoor, "Barfi!" is coming out Sep 14 and it will see Telugu actress Ileana D’Cruz in a vital role.
