Ranbir deaf-mute but happy-go-lucky in Barfee

By Subhash K.Jha
Mumbai, April 13 (IANS) Though Ranbir Kapoor plays a deaf and mute man in Anurag Basu's "Barfee", his character would be no sad sack but a happy-go-lucky chap.

For some months, Anurag concentrated on instilling a positivity and laughter into the script before he began shooting and decided to make "Barfee" a positive life-affirming film with plenty of humour, music, dancing and singing.

The title of the film was changed from the dark "Silence" to the sweet-and-cute "Barfee". The film will now have as many as 10-12 songs, although the hero doesn't talk or speak.

Said a source: "Anurag Basu was earlier working simultaneously on his two Ranbir Kapoor projects 'Barfee' and 'Kishore' (the Kishore Kumar bio-pic) for UTV. In the past few months, he abandoned 'Kishore' to focus on altering and fine-tuning 'Barfee'."

"Though Ranbir's character of 'Barfee' cannot hear or speak, he will be shown to be a happy-go-lucky sod. He will be goofy and fun-loving, making others laugh while laughing at his own debilitating disabilities."

In the film, Ranbir stars with Priyanka Chopra, who plays a mentally challenged girl.