A Brilliant Conflict

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The climax is special.. It made me cry. No words to describe. Watch it.It's worth watching the development of the main character as it all ends up well. Even those who seem to have nothing, have the biggest thing a human being can have.Every being is before anything else, human. This comes to show that no one is bigger than anyone else. Even the people in the TOP today were down under once. U don't grow alone without any help!For the nostalgia in the end 100/10. For the whole movie 8/10.The songs are nice, gaining fame, although some had no context in the movie.

Billu Barber, 2009, 138 min, Red Chillies Entertainment An Excerpt Priyadarshan's film produced by Gauri Khan, Billu is the story of a small-town humble barber, from a sleepy Indian village who is having a tough time making ends meet with overdue electricity bills and unpaid school tuition when a film star enters his life with an arrival of Sahir Khan, mega star to town for a shoot. Interestingly, a famous larger-than-life star arrives in town for a shoot sending the village into frenzy as they try to catch the glimpse of the mega-star Sahir Khan, played by non-other than Shahrukh Khan. Billu's poverty-stricken life is contrasted beautifully against the mega star until the face off of the two characters when they finally meet. This is a movie about unconditional childhood friendship, cutting through age, status or fame. At the end, childhood love and friendship heals any wound and bonds broken relationships.What really makes the movie is the character Billu himself, played by Irrfan Khan, surely one of the most talented but underrated actor in Bollywood today. Some of you may remember him from Mira Nair's film Namesake which he gave superb performances as Gogol's father as well as the mean police inspector in Slumdog Millionaire. He is the emotional core of this movie. The film starts with his desperate and innocent attempt to bribe a government officer in order to get a business loan for his barber shop. While listening to his plea, you can't help it but feel for him. Apparently, it is believed that this role was first offered to Ashkay Kumar. I can't imagine him playing this role. Irrfan brings a certain human dignity and respect not only to the character Billu and his profession but also to the life of poverty, convening so much by saying very little. He manages to make his character extremely believable and likable with ease.A surprising and refreshing character is Bindiya, Billu's wife played by Lara Dutt. She should be commended for delivering a captivating and believable performance s; you would not know she is former Miss Universe. This is a different role for her; she usually plays the sophisticated beauty and I might add it is refreshing to see her in this role. The stage presence of both Lara and Irrfan is impressive as husband and wife. She gives the character strength with moments of depth, love and respect which I find very inspiring given their poverty level.What makes this movie great its realism and depiction of rural life in India, unlike other Bollywood movies, with no pretension or smug. The cinematography of this movie is amazing, showcasing the lush of rural India. The simplicity of the film, portrayal of poverty without overwhelming the audience makes this film a delight to watch. I liked the clever way the director unfolds the story. It invites you in, but leaves you to your own considerations as the story progresses. This film lets certain details out when the moments are right, but not before the audience is fully involved in the somber life of small town man. You get the feeling that Billu is lying until the heartwarming climax. Billu is deeply touching not only in details of an ordinary man's life, but also our shortcomings and our insecurities.This film also states that what seems trivial at any given moment in life could be important later on. Besides all this, great acting, thoughtfulness, genuine sincerity, and total emotional honesty are what one can expect from Billu without the loss of a typical grandiose of Bollywood musicals. If you want to see a movie that affirms the meaning of friendship, this is your movie. Billu is extraordinary film in an ordinary town.More commentary on Isisbollywood.wordpress.comRHK, Isisbollywood

The story is simple, but performances of Shahrukh Khan and Irrfan Khan are what makes the movie worth watching. The songs, even though not related to the story, are very entertaining and make the movie more fun to watch. The ending was predictable, but the performances saved the movie.Billu's wife looked way too beautiful to pass off as an average village girl. I'm no Bollywood fan so I did not know who the actress was. Throughout the whole movie, I kept thinking "how on earth did this super hot girl end up with this average looking man?" In the ending credits, I saw Lara Dutta. Miss Universe Lara Dutta!If you have some extra spare time, this movie is good enough not to waste it.

The storyline did have potential, i thought that it could have been a good watch. I don't have anything against the actors, and thought that Irfan Khan and Lara Dutta were pretty amazing in this film as a down to earth, honest couple. I was very impressed with them both, who are talented anyway.But the scene with the guest house manager... that character was not needed, and like most people have said, was NOT funny but really just a pain after the first five minutes. Om Puri wasn't funny in this film, Rajpal Yadav, bless him, was his usual annoying self. I thought that it took far too long to get into any sort of real story, which was a shame because the actors were good! I love SRK, biggest fan ever, but he did really play himself in this, and he really was not needed to act in the first half of the film, which wasn't his fault. Still, i would never complain of TV time where SRK is there!So the 4 out of 10 would be for the great Irfan Khan, Lara Dutta, some of the good item songs which were overdone but were worth it, and of course, Shahrukh Khan because as mainstream as he is, you cant fault the guy really.