MUMBAI: Anurag Basu’s ‘Barfi!’ starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra might have not made it to the Oscars, but the makers of the film have several reasons to rejoice.
The film, which swept the 58th Filmfare Awards winning seven awards, including the Best Actor Award, which was won by Ranbir Kapoor, is travelling across the globe.
‘Barfi!’ had a mainstream release in Turkey and is now geared up for releases in several other countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mainland China. The film also received accolades at the Busan film festival and won the Grand Jury Award at the Okinawa Film Festival.
But what comes, as an icing on the cake is, that ‘Barfi!’ is invited for a special screening in the out of the competition section at the forthcoming Shanghai International Film Festival in June. This will be the first screening of the Ranbir Kapoor starrer in Mainland China.
Ranbir Kapoor, who is elated at the news says, “I am happy by the response ‘Barfi!’ has garnered overseas. From Busan to Okinawa and Turkey the film has travelled across the globe and I am looking forward to ‘Barfi!’ travelling to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai.”
This also opens up windows for several other Bollywood films to have theatrical release in Mainland China and other non-explored countries.
Amrita Pandey, Director – Syndication and Distribution at Disney UTV says, “ We are thrilled to see how ‘Barfi!’ has appealed to global audiences just like it’s success in India, America, UK and Middle East. Now ‘Barfi!’ has been invited for a special screening at the Shanghai International Film Festival next month. This precedes the film’s theatrical release in Taiwan and Hong Kong.”
With so much attention ‘Barfi!’ has got, we wonder why it was given a step-motherly treatment at the National Awards.