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Wednesday, January 22, 2025
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BOLLYWOOD BILLU
EDITOR'S PICK
Let`s be clear on one thing. "Billu" is not the film that you wanted
it to be. A bitter-sweet portrait of the chequered and troubled star-fan
relationship, it falls short of expectations mainly because Priyadarshan fills
up the spaces occupying the star Shah Rukh and the commoner Irrfan Khan`s tale
with a hefty load of humbug.
The village where the star descends to shoot his latest potboiler with three
glamorous actresses - Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra - in
tow looks too chaotic to be real.
Priyadarshan saturates the filmy village with his characteristically caricatural
actors who have been filling up his villages from the time he made the memorable
"Viraasat". Mohan Joshi, who is brilliant as a boorish politician
trying to act nonchalant before the superstar, Om Puri, who cracks vulgar jokes,
Rasika Joshi, Asrani and Rajpal Yadav - you`ve seen them all doing their rustic
satire for Priyan before. They`ve been there, done it all.
One wishes Priyan had brought in a fresh cast to bolster the film`s fresh look
and texture. For all said and done, "Billu" is by far the director`s
most sensitive work since "Kalapani" and "Viraasat" despite
the film`s extravagant excesses like the three scorching item songs incorporated
to counter the rural characters and ambience with dollops of urbane octane. The
garnishing revs up the proceedings but slackens the subliminal sensitivity by
over-punctuating the narrative.
What works is the star-fan relationship. From the outside the hyper-excitement
of a village as it goes into top gear for a star`s visit may appear exaggerated.
Priyan plants a train of sequences showing the star in interaction with a
star-struck mass of hysterical fans.
For sure the film wouldn`t work without Shah Rukh Khan who brings a sense of
autobiographical opulence to the star`s part. He plays the besieged icon like a
child let loose in a toy store. Don`t look for the lonely superstar pining for
true love over here. This guy enjoys his popularity.
The sensitivity is saved as the end-game when at a school function in the
village Shah Rukh (Sahir Khan) breaks down talking about his childhood friend
Billu, a barber played by Irrfan.
This is where the crux of the film begins. The two actors at the core of the
conflict play their parts with such empathy you forgive and forget the excesses
in the earlier parts of the narrative where the star-fan relationship was
converted into a melee of caricatural encounters.
The truth of this film, when it emerges at the end, is exhilarating and
cathartic. The performances by the two actors carry the film. Shah Rukh Khan
extends his real-life iconic status to a role that requires double his usual
acting skills because it`s autobiographical. He rocks.
But the film belongs to Irrfan Khan. As Billu he is a portrait of restrained
self-mockery and dignity in the face of bizarre demands on him by star-struck
villagers. And that includes his wife and children.
Lara Dutta, with her mannequin-like body language and over made-up face, sticks
out like a sore thumb. She belongs to another film.
Shah Rukh Khan at a press conference for his next film Billu