Anurag Basu adds humour to Burfi; makes it a happy film
By FNN | March 31, 2011, 12:50pm IST
Ranbir Kapoor started shooting with Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'Cruz for Anurag Basu's Burfi from March 15… finally! But after much deliberation, alteration and revision in the original concept.
Interestingly the principal actors and the director, not to mention the film's producer, all need to get themselves and their screen images out of the depressive zone. Anurag Basu's last film Kites was not only a box-office turkey, it also showed the lead pair committing suicide at the end of the film. Audiences rejected Anurag's direful dedication to that thing they call love.
Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra's last outing together was the mega-fiasco Anjaana Anjaani in which both played suicidal souls jumping off bridges, putting plastic bags on their faces, popping pills and seeking every possible means of ending their lives. Understandably the film had anything but a happy ending at the box-office.
Now in Burfi, Ranbir plays a deaf and mute character while Priyanka plays a mentally challenged girl. Not a very happy situation to be in, when your last film about depressed characters has been rejected at the box-office.
Not surprisingly, director Anurag Basu is making Burfi a positive life-asserting film with plenty of humour, music, dancing and singing. Basu has been holed up for some months concentrating on instilling a positivity and laughter into the script.
To begin with, the title of the film was changed from the dark Silence to the sweet-and-cute Burfi. More importantly, the film will now have as many 10-12 songs, although the hero doesn't talk or speak.
Says a source, "Anurag Basu was earlier working simultaneously on his two Ranbir Kapoor projects Burfi and Kishore (the Kishore Kumar bio-pic) for UTV. In the past few months, he abandoned Kishore to focus on altering and fine-tuning Burfi. Though Ranbir's character of Burfi cannot hear or speak, he will be shown to be a happy-go-lucky guy. He will be goofy and fun-loving, making others laugh while laughing at his own debilitating disabilities."
Anurag Basu admits Burfi is a happy film. "It's a very funny very upbeat film."
UTV's Siddharth Roy Kapoor denies the script of Burfi had to undergo any changes. "Barfee is going entirely as per plan."
Quiz him on whether UTV's dark offering 7 Khoon Maaf had under-performed and Siddharth smiles, "I love the way it is assumed we've suffered a loss on 7 Khoon Maaf. That is far from the truth."
The truth, however bitter, is that dark melancholy films on physical and emotional disabilities and death are not quite what the entertainment audiences want. UTV-Anurag Basu have woken up to the fact just in time.
Burfi is going to be as happy and musical a film though the characters are physically disabled.
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