Billo Barber
Encyclopedia
Billu originally titled Billu Barber and released under that title in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, is a 2009 Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...

 film by Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. In a career spanning over two decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 80 films in several Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu...

, produced by Gauri Khan
Gauri Khan
Gauri Khan is an Indian movie producer and the wife of Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan, with whom she co-founded Red Chillies Entertainment, their film production and distribution company in 2002.-Early life:Gauri Khan is a Hindu of Chib Mohyal Brahmin origin, born in New Delhi, India and...

, with an adapted screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...

 by Manisha Korde and Mushtaq Sheikh based on the script by Sreenivasan. It stars Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta Bhupathi is an Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and former Miss Universe.-Early life:Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta...

, and features Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...

, Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...

 and Asrani in supporting roles. Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

 makes an extended appearance in the film, while Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...

, Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to Badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film...

, and Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...

 make guest appearances in item numbers. The film was released on 13 February 2009.

It is a official adaptation of the 2007 Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol and its screenplay by Manisha Korde and Mushtaq Sheikh closely imitating Rajinikanth guest starrer Kuselan
Kuselan
Kuselan is a 2008 Tamil drama film directed by P. Vasu, which was simultaneously made in Telugu as Kathanayakudu . Both remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, the film is directed by P. Vasu and produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy, Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar in two languages...

, the Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 remake of the Malayalam original. It is also a retelling of the story of Sudama and Krishna
Sudama
Sudama was a childhood friend of Hindu deity Krishna from Mathura, the story of whose visit to Dwaraka to meet Krishna, is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana...

.

Plot

Billu (Irfan Khan) is a poor barber who lives with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta Bhupathi is an Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and former Miss Universe.-Early life:Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta...

) and their two children, Gunja (Mitali Mayakar) and Ronak (Pratik Dalvi) in the village of Budbuda. He also spends time with his close friends Budbudiya (Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...

) and Naubat Chacha (Asrani
Asrani
Govardhan Asrani , popularly known simply as Asrani, is an actor in Indian films whose Bollywood career has spanned over 35 years. His wife Manju Bansal is an actress.-Early life:...

). Though struggling, Billu lives an uneventful life until Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...

 superstar Sahir Khan (Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

) comes to the village for a film shoot.

Billu has mentioned to his family that he knows Sahir from the past but has never elaborated how he knows the star. When his children talk about their father's friendship with the star, word spreads throughout the village. Virtually overnight, Billu, who had previously been scorned by most due to his lowly state, becomes the center of attention. People who had spurned him only the week before now call him a close friend so that he will introduce them to Sahir. Billu refuses and downplays the friendship. Even so, the powerful businessman Sahukaar Daamchand (Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...

) demands to see Sahir and offers Billu expensive gifts in order to gain such a meeting. When Billu consistently fails to introduce the people of the village to Sahir, his situation changes once again. He is accused of lying about his friendship and everyone — including his wife and children — begin to doubt his character and integrity. Rather than defend himself, Billu remains quiet about the nature of his and Sahir's friendship.

On Sahir's last day in the village, the star speaks at a local school. He tells the children about his own impoverished childhood when he had nothing but a special friendship with another young boy, named Billu. It was Billu who had taken care of Sahir and eventually helped him travel to Mumbai where Sahir became a star. Billu, who is standing at the back of the event, leaves during the talk without revealing to Sahir that he is there. But the townspeople, realizing their error, take Sahir to Billu's house. Billu's children come home and apologize to their father. Then, Sahir appears in his Bentley Continental GT
Bentley Continental GT
-Flying Spur:The four door Continental Flying Spur saloon was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. The Flying Spur utilizes most of the technical underpinnings of the Bentley Continental GT, and was introduced to European and North American markets in the summer of 2005...

, and Billu and Sahir are reunited. In the end, Sahir must leave for another shoot but promises that his and Billu's friendship is reignited and will remain friends.

Production

Director Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan
Priyadarshan is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter. In a career spanning over two decades, Priyadarshan has directed over 80 films in several Indian languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu...

 cast Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

 and Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta Bhupathi is an Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and former Miss Universe.-Early life:Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta...

 in pivotal roles in the film. While these roles were initially offered to Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...

 and Tabu
Tabu (actress)
Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...

, Kumar eventually opted out of the project as did Tabu. The director then offered Kumar's and Tabu's role to Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

 and Amisha Patel
Amisha Patel
Ameesha Patel is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood movies. Making her acting debut in the blockbuster Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai , Patel won critical praise for her performance in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha , which became one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema, earning her a ...

 respectively, and both of them agreed to do the film. Patel also opted out of the film and sources have indicated that Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla is an Indian actress, film producer and television presenter.After being crowned as the winner of the Miss India beauty contest in 1984, Chawla pursued an acting career...

 was signed on for the role.

In April 2008, the director announced that he had cast Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta Bhupathi is an Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and former Miss Universe.-Early life:Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta...

 as Billu's wife. The cast began filming for the project on 8 April 2008 and according to Shahrukh Khan, "the film is a sweet story of friendship...quite similar to the bond shared between Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

 and Sudama
Sudama
Sudama was a childhood friend of Hindu deity Krishna from Mathura, the story of whose visit to Dwaraka to meet Krishna, is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana...

." The film also features Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...

, Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...

 and Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to Badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film...

 in item number
Item number
An item number or an item song, in Indian cinema, is a musical performance that has little to do with the film in which it appears, but is presented to showcase beautiful dancing women in very revealing clothes, to lend support to the marketability of the film...

s with Shahrukh Khan.

Cast

  • Irrfan Khan as Billu
  • Lara Dutta
    Lara Dutta
    Lara Dutta Bhupathi is an Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, and former Miss Universe.-Early life:Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to a Punjabi father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her mother is Jennifer Dutta...

     as Bindiya
  • Om Puri
    Om Puri
    Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...

     as Sahukaar Daamchand
  • Rajpal Yadav
    Rajpal Yadav
    Rajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...

     as Zallan Kumar (Budbudiya)
  • Asrani
    Asrani
    Govardhan Asrani , popularly known simply as Asrani, is an actor in Indian films whose Bollywood career has spanned over 35 years. His wife Manju Bansal is an actress.-Early life:...

     as Naubat Chacha
  • Pushkar Shrotri
  • Nagesh Bhonsle
    Nagesh Bhonsle
    Nagesh Bhonsle is an Indian theater, film and television actor.Nagesh Bhosale produced,directed film Gosht Choti Dongaraevadhi was highly appreciated by critic and viewers...

  • Atul Parchure
    Atul Parchure
    Atul Parchure is an Indian film actor and comedian. He is primarily known for his comic roles in films like Khatta Meeta, All the best, and Kyon Ki.-Films:*Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap *Khatta Meeta...

  • Mitali Mayakar as Gunja
  • Pratik Dalvi as Ronak (Duggu)
  • Manoj Joshi
    Manoj Joshi (actor)
    Manoj Joshi is an India film and television actor. Joshi began his career in Marathi theatre, also putting up performances in Gujarati and Hindi theatre...

     as Damodar Dubey
  • Rushabh Shah  as Taro Bapu


Extended special appearance
  • Shahrukh Khan
    Shahrukh Khan
    Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....

     as Sahir Khan


Special appearances in item numbers with Khan
  • Kareena Kapoor
    Kareena Kapoor
    Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...

     in "Marjaani"
  • Priyanka Chopra
    Priyanka Chopra
    Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...

     in "You Get Me Rocking & Reeling"
  • Deepika Padukone
    Deepika Padukone
    Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to Badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film...

     in "Love Mera Hit Hit"

Reviews

Billu opened to good reviews. In reviewing the film, Derek Elley of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

stated: "Bigtime Bollywood meets small-town India with quietly entertaining, finally moving results in Billu Barber. Simple tale of friendship cleverly manages to bring together superstar Shah Rukh Khan, in full-on pin-up mode, with Irrfan Khan, who's developed into one of the industry's best character actors, in a movie that straddles both mainstream Hindi cinema and more specialty fare. Mid-February release, produced by Khan's own company, Red Chillies
Red Chillies Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based in Mumbai. The company was founded in 2002 by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan...

, won't approach the grosses of his last starrer, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, but is way more engaging on an emotional level". Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...

states that Billu is a "Bollywood comedy about an unlikely friendship [that] is full of unexpected pleasures". Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece is an American journalist, author, comedy performer and comic book writer. He was additionally one of the first professional Web journalists, becoming an editor of a Silicon Alley start-up in 1996....

 of Film Journal International
Film Journal International
Film Journal International is a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It is a sister publication of Adweek, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and other periodicals....

describes the film as a "delight" and states, "What makes it work ... is that neither Billu nor his situation is played for laughs—his hardscrabble poverty isn't glossed over, and neither is his wife's longing for acceptance in the class-conscious village. And a climactic speech by Khan at a school gathering works fully well emotionally, despite a huge potential for hokiness—and incidentally provides concrete reason why real-life Khan, who's often starred in glowering action-hero roles, is a genuinely top-notch actor in addition to being a popular star". The Times of India gave the film three stars and describes it as "a moving ode to friendship and ordinariness". While CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand gave the film two out of five stars, he stated that it "works smoothly as a simple, moral tale, its charm interrupted every time the director goes for broader, more 'commercial' appeal. But it's enjoyable and heart-felt too, and for that reason deserves to be watched". Shashi Baliga of the Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....

said that, "Though the film has its share of stock characters, maudlin and over-the-top moments and sags in the latter half, there’s also good story-telling, some great acting, and a healthy dose of masala in the item numbers".

Soundtrack

Released on 5 January 2009, the soundtrack for Billu has music by Pritam
Pritam
Pritam Chakraborty , better known as Pritam is a music director and composer from Kolkata who currently works in Bollywood, Mumbai.- Early life :...

 with lyrics from Gulzar
Gulzar (lyricist)
Sampooran Singh Kalra , known popularly by his pen name Gulzar , is an Indian poet, lyricist and director. He primarily writes in Hindi-Urdu and has also written in Punjabi and several dialects of Hindi such as Braj Bhasha, Khariboli, Haryanvi and Marwari.Gulzar was awarded the Padma Bhushan in...

, Neeraj Shridhar
Neeraj Shridhar
Neeraj Shridhar is a Indian singer-songwriter, who is lead vocalist of a pop and rock group Bombay Vikings. He is also a popular Bollywood playback singer. He is also a Music Director and a Lyricist. Bombay Vikings became popular with remix hits like, Kya Soorat Hai, Woh Chali and Chod Do Anchal ...

, Sayeed Quadri, Ashish Pandit and Mayur Puri.

The song "Love Mera Hit Hit" was sampled by Serbian pop singer Anabela Đogani
Anabela Đogani
Anabela Đogani, is a popular Bosnian-Serbian singer. She launched her career in 1993 as a part of the duo Funky G, together with her husband Gagi Đogani. On April 29, 2009 the duo split - both professionally and privately...

 in her song "Igra Istine".

Controversy

The film was originally titled Billu Barber, but salon and beauty parlour associations raised objections by finding the word "Barber" derogatory. As head of the film's production company, Shahrukh Khan eventually removed the word from the movie title and promotions, renaming the film Billu. He also invited 'The Hairdressers' Association of Mumbai members to the premier of the movie in order to assuage their protests.

External links

  • Billu at BBC
    BBC
    The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

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