If you saw SRK giving advice to Farhan on friends and stardom in Luck By Chance, in Billu you will see him stretching this idea to a 2 hour film.
The first thing that strikes you about Billu is the cinematography by V. Manikandan. Every frame is so painstakingly lit that it just blows your mind. The screenplay stretches the story to its limit. The actual substance comes into play in the last few reels. One scene stands out and makes you laugh out loud so that you will come out of the theatre thinking of the guy who plays the guest house manager.
The screenplay has its share of Priyan’s stock characters and over the top performances. It spends too much screen time to come to the point. What starts of as a light hearted comedy turns into a drama by the end of the film. Throughout the film Billu is in trouble but you will be laughing at him and what is happening around him. It is comedy in Billu’s tragedy. Shah Rukh is comfortable playing the over exaggerated persona of the real Srk. Sometimes the lines between reality and fiction are blurred through his comment on Aamir & Salman. Lara Dutta tries hard to fit into the village belle character but she is way too glamorous to look the part.
Finally it is Irrfan Khan’s understated portrayal of Billu which really stands out in terms of performance. He is fantastic in the emotional scenes. The Music is not in tune with the film. Except Khudaya Khair & Billu Bhyankar none of the songs help the proceedings of the narrative. Sandeep Chowta’s background score supports the film without being overbearing. Priyadarshan’s direction is in control after a long time. The last time he worked with a Khan it turned into a disaster this time though he is on solid ground.
Final few words: If you are going looking for SRK, Priyanka, Kareena & Deepika in the film please do remember that as the title suggests it is an Irrfan Khan film. One of the decent Priyadarshan film’s in recent times. The last few minutes are the best part about the film.
**½( Above Average )
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