The film starts off with a voiceover introduction by the veteran Javed Akhtar, who takes us through the entire proceedings of the film. The film is all about a Bareilly based bubbly girl Bitti Mishra (Kriti Sanon) and her life. Despite being a girl, her parents raise her up as a son. That explains the reason as to why her parents are not surprised to know that her daughter smokes and even drinks. Even though Bitti Mishra meets many suitors for her marriage, she lands up getting rejected by everyone. That’s why her marriage becomes the prime concern of her parents (Seema Pahwa and Pankaj Tripathi). One day, a chance reading about the central character of a book titled ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’ not only changes her plans of running away from her parental home but also, makes her feel special about the book’s author, who, she thinks is the only person who has understood her completely.
When the book’s printer Chirag Dubey (Ayushmann Khurrana) gets to know about Bitti Mishra’s love for the book’s author, he fabricates a story involving Pritam Vidrohi (Rajkummar Rao), whose name and photograph features as the book’s author. What is the mystery behind the book’s author, does Kriti Sanon get to know the real author of the book in the end and what connection does Ayushmann Khurrana has with the book, is what forms the film.
Bareilly Ki Barfi is inspired from a French novel titled ‘Ingredients of Love’. The film’s writer very skilfully and convincingly adopts the said book into the film’s script and changed the premise of the story from France to Uttar Pradesh. Even though the film has been inspired by the book, the film’s director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari has ensured that the film enjoys an identity of its own, without falling under the shadows of the book. Thanks to the able direction by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, the film makes for an entertaining watch.
Essentially, the film belongs to Kriti Sanon, who is fast becoming one of the front runners of the Gen-Next stars. Even though her last film Raabta failed to live up to the expectations, that hasn’t deterred her determination and confidence even a bit. Her performance in the film in the film is convincing. She looks true to her character. On the other hand, there’s Ayushmann Khurrana, who was last seen in Meri Pyaari Bindu. After having played romantic heroes so far in his career, this is the first time Ayushmann Khurrana is playing such a character, although we won’t reveal the details of his character (you have to see it to believe it). Overall, Ayushmann Khurrana is good in this film.
Besides Ayushmann Khurrana and Kriti Sanon, the film belongs to Rajkummar Rao, whose last film was Behen Hogi Teri. He is a man who simply owns the film and how. There seems to be no stopping this man when it comes to experimenting with characters and mannerisms. Bareilly Ki Barfi only reaffirms the fact that why Rajkummar Rao is one of the most effortless actors in Bollywood today. His onscreen chemistry with both, Ayushmann Khurrana and Kriti Sanon is really awesome. With the kind of roles and films which he has in his kitty in the days to come, Rajkummar Rao is definitely a superstar in the waiting. The ease with which Rajkumar Rao changes not just his character sketch, but also his voice in the film, deserves a loud applause.
This movie is simplicity at its best! Rating: 7/10