It's special to be ordinary.

Billu Barber

This is a film about fame, the price you must pay to attain it and keep it. It’s also a film about true friendship and the price you must pay to attain it and keep it. Shahrukh Khan (SRK) plays a mirror image of himself in this movie. He is a superstar film actor that has reached “God” status, especially among the poor. His name in the film is Sahir Khan, and he has appeared in the same movies as the real SRK. They show clips of SRK’s real movies and just say that Sahir Khan was the star. So he is basically playing himself.

He’s working on a new movie that needs to be filmed in a poor village…Sahir (SRK) decides which village to shoot at and soon everyone in the village hears that King Khan is coming! Excitement fills the air and everyone is dying to meet Sahir and will do anything to get the chance.

Billu is the local barber who is so poor that he cant even afford a new barber chair and keeps repairing his old wooden one. His wife lives at home, and his children go to school (whenever Billu can pay for their school that is – in India you pay for all school, not just university).

He is behind on his payments, and his children are taken out of school. A local “Business man” keeps on insisting for Billu to take a loan (at a high interest of course), but Billu doesn’t want more debt.

When news of Sahir’s film is heard, he informs his family (wife and 2 kids) that he knew Sahir BEFORE he became a superstar. He tells his family that Sahir probably doesn’t remember him, since they were very young, and grew up in a nearby village, even poorer than the one they live in now. His kids and wife tell a few friends, and they tell friends….and suddenly everyone in the whole entire village thinks that Billu is Sahir’s best friend.

Billu is now famous, and everyone gives him gifts, and loves him. But of course they want to meet Sahir in exchange for their love and affection. When Billu cannot deliver the goods, they all hate him.

The point of this story is that Billu and Sahir are the same. They both became famous one day and everyone in their world wants something from them. As long as they are famous they are loved, but when they cant give everyone what they want, they are hated again. The film shows the two lifestyles, but focuses more on Billu, since we the general audience can relate to him more.

I wont reveal whether or not Billu really does know Sahir, but I will leave you with Billu’s answer when his wife asks “Do you really know Sahir?” Billu says

“What difference would it make in our lives if I knew him or not?”

5/5

J-KraKen