Film Bareilly Ki Barfi is worthy to watch once for its funny quotient and capable performances of th !!

After making a remarkable directorial debut with Nil Battey Sannata, director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari comes up with a small-town rom-com in the form of Bareilly Ki Barfi starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon and Rajkummar Rao. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari makes us take a stroll through the bylanes of Bareilly, you realize that the movie thrives just on this - the spirit of simplicity, the aching and overwhelming feeling of intimacy in these towns. Gratefully, for her, despite its fair share of hiccups, it’s a intelligibly written story.

 

Bitti Mishra (Kriti Sanon), who smokes, watches English films and can break dance, is not your typical ‘girl next door’, because of which, she has been rejected by many suitors. When she comes across a novel and discovers that the female protagonist in the book is exactly like her, she decides to trace the author and meet him.

 

Now, the actual author of the book is Chirag Dubey (Khurrana), who had used his mild-mannered friend Pritam’s (Rajkummar Rao) name as the author of the book to avoid any backlash. Therefore, when Bitti asks Chirag for his help, the smitten Chirag decides to train Pritam to behave obnoxiously and break her heart so that he can then move in and woo her. What happens next is a comedy of errors as both men deal in a game of one-upmanship to get wedded to Bitti.

 

Both Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao are in top form, matching each other in the devilish streak and vulnerability of their characters. Ayushmann manages to shine in a couple of scenes. Rajummar Rao, who takes the entire movie on his shoulders. He is aptly the chameleon this industry expects of him, essaying diverse shades of the same man. As Pritam Vidrohi, he walks away with the most author backed part. It is a sheer delight to watch him play the mild-mannered Pritam Vidrohi, who can transform into a macho redneck in the blink of an eye. Kriti Sanon is beautiful enough to please viewers with her able act. Pankaj Tripathi and Seema Pahwa, who essay Bitti’s parents are good enough.

 

The first half of film is not so engaging. But, once Rajkummar enters the tale, the movie gets elevated to another level altogether and starts becoming enjoyable and likeable. The dialogues are quite funny and it is clear that much attention has been paid to writing them. The continuous competition between Chirag and Pritam to woo Bitti is one of the highlights of the movie and you will unquestionably find yourself rooting for the underdog Pritam.

 

Adapted from the French novel Ingredients of Love, it’s a skillful depiction of love with the mandatory sprinkling of freshness usually missing from modern day rom-coms. Iyer and her writers give the movie an intrinsic identity, adapting it to the rustic milieu.

 

The editing is choppy, it’s a lengthy watch, the screenplay is a drag in parts but we suggest that you should avoid these petite issues. The climax is somewhat foreseeable.

 

Overall, it is worthy to watch once for its funny quotient and capable performances of the lead star cast.