Billu

This was really charming. A barber's claim to be friends with a mega-star is put to the test when a movie is shot in his small village featuring, of course, that star. We are left wondering if the barber is telling the truth and what will happen if he can manage to meet the star face-to-face.

Billu provides an interesting insight into the challenges of Indian movie making on location as well as how to handle sudden notoriety. One of the things that makes this movie so much fun for Bollywood fans is that the mega-star is played by the biggest Indian star of our time, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK). We felt a real thrill when he first appears and pulls off his helmet to show himself. The role allows us to see him behind the scenes as well as the fact that every celebrity is, underneath all the glamor, a human being. I've seen Irrfan Khan in a lot of movies where his understated style means the movie is going to be relatively low-key. His parts of this movie were a definite contrast to the "big in Bollywood" SRK part.

 I am hard put to think of another movie that successfully blends big movie glitz with thoughtful small village reality, or in other words Shah Rukh Khan's style with Irrfan Khan's. But this one pulls it off.

With three item numbers (not moving the plot forward, just for fun, and frequently with stars who we never see again in the film) as well as various other songs, this was long. But we didn't mind and already know we'll watch it again sometime when we want a feel-good movie.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)