The film is a story of a simple ordinary man who led an extra ordinary life. Billu (Irfan Khan) is a meager barber – Bilas Rao Pardesi who lives in his Budbuda village with his wife Bindiya (Lara Dutta) and two great kids Gunja (Mitali Mayakar) and Ronak (Pratik Dalvi).
Life was bitter sweet… we can say more sweet than bitter.
Nothing is going right for him. From getting rejected for loan applications to even losing his children’s schooling as he can’t even afford to play the fees.
His shop is a mess and not many people come to visit it either. He spends idle time with his close friends, Budbudiya (Rajpal Yadav)and Naubat Chacha (Asrani). Though struggling, Billu lives an uneventful life until Bollywood superstar Sahir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) comes to his village for a film shoot and everything changes in Billu’s life.
Billu had once talked to his wife about how he knows the superstar Sahir in his childhood days, but had never elaborated more. His children mention about it to their friends, and thus rumors get spread about Billu’s close friendship with the star. Billu who was usually scorned by most due to his impoverished state, becomes the center of attention.
Life changed, people changed, friends changed, the village changed but one man did not … Billu Barber.
Even those who had spurned him all along, started treating him with artificial respect and admiration. Being a simpleton, Billu yet refused and downplays the friendship. The a loan shark and mill owner in the village Sahukaar Daamchand (Om Puri) demands to see Sahir Khan and he even presents Billu with the new fixtures, hair cutting chair, etc in his salon.
The pressure mounts on him, from the loan shark to his childrens’ school principal for Billu to introduce Sahir Khan and even invite him for the school’s annual day function. Despite Billu’s attempts he now onsistently fails to introduce the people of the village to Sahir Khan and his situation changes once again. Worse than before, he is now accused of lying about his friendship and everyone – including his wife and children, begin to doubt his character and integrity.
This simpleton redefines the words ordinary. Billu just remains quiet about the nature of their friendship. And life never remains same for Billu the Barber.
On his last day in the village, Sahir accepts the invitation to speak at a local school’s function. He tells the children about his own impoverished childhood his struggles, when he had nothing but a very special friend a young boy named Billu. How this young boy eventually helped him when in need, and then how things changed in his life.
Shahrukh Khan impresses during the emotional speech. Irrfan Khan shines in this subdued role and establishes himself as one of the most talented guys in bollywood. The otherwise glamorous Lara Dutta is simple and sober as the barber’s wife. And Mitali and Pratik as their children are very natural.
A fine film which has emotions, good countryside and some foot tapping numbers performed by Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone in their special appearances.
Cast:
Irrfan Khan – Billu Barber
Lara Dutta – Bindiya
Shah Rukh Khan – Zahir Khan
Rajpal Yadav – Jhallan Kumar
Om Puri – Damchand
Manoj Joshi – Damodar Dubey
Asrani – Nobat Chacha
Mitali Mayakar – Billu’s Daughter
Pratik Dalvi – Billu’s Son
Jagdish – Madan
Rasika Joshi – Mrs Gahalot
Special Appearance – Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone
Crew:
Story – Shrinivasan
Screenplay – Mushtaq Sheikh, Priyadarshan
Dialogues – Manisha Korde
Script Supervisor – Kanika Dhillon
Costume Designers – Anaita Shroff Adajania, Manish Malhotra, Neeta Lulla, Naresh, V. Sai Babu
Post Production Supervisor – Vaibhav Misra
DI – Prime Focus
Visual Effects – Red Chillies VFX
Visual Effects Supervisors – Keitan Yadav, Arjun Mitra, Harish Hingorani
Sound Designer – Rajakrishnan
Background Music – Sandeep Chowta
Choreographers – Farah Khan, Poly Verma, Prasanna
Lyrics – Gulzar, Sayeed Quadri
Music Director – Pritam
Associate Director – Abilash Nair
Action – B. Thyagarajan
Production Designer – Sabu Cyril
Producer – Gauri Khan
Filmed by – Priyadarshan
Executive Producer – Sanjiv Chawla
Film Editor – Arun Kumar
Director of Photography – V. Manikandan