What saves the film’s cause is stellar art direction that captures the parched and hostile environs of rural India to the T. And then there are the actors. They are pillars of Jha’s storytelling effort. Manoj Bajpayee is able in his role. So are Esha Gupta, Om Puri and Anjali Patil. But the show belongs to Arjun Rampal and Abhay Deol. Abhay fits into his eccentric and edgy character with ease. And even though Arjun looks a little too polished to play a hard boiled cop he manages a restrained and commendable performance.

But of course like the film you have to keep going back to Paresh Rawal. It is his performance that drives this film. The dialogue by Bhavesh Mandalia and Umesh Shukla acts as an able side kick. But it’s Rawal’s Kanji bhai who is the superhero of not just the film but of the many Indians who feel an incorrigible need to vent their frustrations of social and religious dysfunction plaguing our country.

Barfi! is that rare film that can make you smile and make you cry in the same scene. Its technical brilliance is only outdone by its emotional complexity and depth. Pritam’s music adds a nice silent-era charm to this already fantastic story, making it an occasion when words simply aren’t enough.