Billu Barber : Reviewed

Billu Barber is the story of Billu played by Irfan Khan who is a small time barber based in Budbuda village.Income is meager as is displayed by Billu and his wife Bindiya(Lara Dutta) who somehow sustain and Billu has to keep convincing his kids' principal for more days to pay the school dues.

Things change for Billu when the country's biggest filmstar,Sahir Khan(Shahrukh Khan) reaches their village on a movie shoot.Word gets around that Billu and Sahir used to be childhood friends.This changes the attitude of the other villagers who used to mock Billu for his incapabilities to respect and school even offering to pay for their kids' education out of their fund,only with something in return - chance to meet Sahir Khan.

Bindiya loves the attention that she gets from other ladies and has no qualms about his "friendship" with Sahir Khan.Billu on the other hand gets caught up in further complication as the shoot nears completion and he still hasn't met Sahir Khan.

This makes the villagers realise that the story of him knowing Sahir Khan might just be cooked up after all,they turn hostile.Billu gets arrested and all the expensive gifts and royalties endowed upon him are taken away.

The climax of the movie is whether Billu would be able to meet his childhood friend or not.Also if he would recognise his now "just a barber" friend or not.

All in all,the movie is a Krishna-Sudama story set in present times with more style as elaborated by Shahrukh Khan's screen presence and the item numbers.Sometimes it just gets a little too slow and seems like a drag rather than keeping you intrigued and glued to your seats.

Shahrukh Khan's lip quivering speech in the end just doesn't get what it deserved.The characters could not have been related to.Item numbers could have been done away with.Shahrukh Khan isn't actually required in the movie to be honest.The movie was about the simpleness of Billu and his family and that could have been it.

If you must see it,see it for Irfan Khan's fabulous performance and for the little rib tickles here and there.Also for Deepika Padukone's item number which is a sizzler.Do look out for the scenes where Shahrukh talks about Khans in the industry and when Billu talks to a government officer if he would take bribes or no.

My rating : 2/5