Ranbir assures 'no disability' in 'Barfi'

Jul 3, 2012 IANS

Mumbai, July 3 (IANS) Ranbir Kapoor is playing a deaf and mute boy while Priyanka will be seen as an autistic girl in the forthcoming film "Barfi", but Ranbir claims that despite such characters audiences will not see any "disability" in the film.

"Whatever disability you see right now, you will not feel in the film. We are normal characters. PC (Priyanka) is playing an autistic girl in the film, but she is like this cute puppy dog who you will fall in love with. You will not see the disability," he said at the release of the first trailer of 'Barfi' Monday.

Directed by Anurag Basu, the film is titled after Ranbir's character.

Talking about it, Ranbir said that in the movie his character's "name is actually Murphy but because he is deaf and mute, he says it as Barfi".

"They cannot see the difference between letters M and B. He is happy-go-lucky. It is set in the 1970s, it's a romantic comedy. He has a big house, and his purpose in life is to make people happy. Even in his sorrows, you will see a sense of comedy and happiness. This is his motive in life," said Ranbir.

Playing the role was not as tough as Ranbir had anticipated. When Basu narrated "the script to me, I thought I will really have to work a lot for this and I will have to learn sign language and all".

"But he (Basu) was very clear to me. He told me that this was not a film to show off my acting abilities. He wanted it to be relatable. Everyone should understand the film."

The inspiration to play the happy-go-lucky character came from Charlie Chaplin, but Ranbir clarifies that he is not trying to imitate him. "Charlie Chaplin was an inspiration, but we have not tried to replicate it. I am Raj Kapoor's grandson, so it will have some effect as well," he said.

In recent times, the actor won accolades for playing a musician in "Rockstar" and a ruthless manipulator in "Raajneeti".

Ask him about the roles he is playing and he says: "You would like to believe that with every film you grow. If there is no growth, you start reaching a saturation point and you retire. I don't want to say that I have become a good actor. All we can do now is give it our best..."

Co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapoor, "Barfi" is coming out Sep 14 and it will see Telugu actress Ileana D'Cruz in a vital role.

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