Barfi!

Barfi! is one of my favorite Indian movies. A colorfully crafted, brilliantly acted, buoyant celebration of love, Barfi! remains one of the best movies I’ve seen in the romance genre.

My favorite scene in Barfi! comes towards the end when he goes looking for Jhilmil in the orphanage. Not finding her, he walks away dejected, the reality slowly sinking in. Shruthi, walking alongside him, realizes, now that Jhilmil’s gone, he might finally be able to love her again. As this reality becomes apparent, Jhilmil opens the window and shouts “Barfiiii”. Barfi being deaf, is not able to hear her.

Shruthi realizes that the ray of hope that appeared moments ago was only a mirage. It is up to her now. If she chooses to walk away without turning, Barfi will forever be hers. She’ll finally have the life she had always wanted. She hesitates for a second, silences a muffled scream from within and looks at Barfi with eyes made moist by drops of false hope, and decides to do the right thing. With these eyes, she points her to him, letting go of a dream that’ll now remain but a dream.