With no dialogues for him in Barfi!, actor Ranbir Kapoor Friday said the film was like a game of dumb charades for him. He plays the role of a deaf-mute person in the film. “I enjoyed playing this character. There were no dialogues. I used to go on the set, play dumb charades and come back,” Ranbir said at a promotional event here. The actor said that it was very important for him that the audience was able to relate to his character and this was something which he kept in mind while shooting. He said that his director Anurag Basu gave him a lot of freedom on the set. “I was frustrated that I didn’t even say one dialogue or sing a song. A Hindi film hero wants to have a dialogue or sing songs, but it was a fun experience. But I had a lot of freedom on the set. Anurag Basu just wanted that my character must have relatability with the audience. They must be able to understand what I am feeling,” he said. Directed by Basu, the film also stars Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D’Cruz who will be making her Bollywood debut. For Ranbir, the film was like a “breath of fresh air” due to the “happy, jovial nature” of his director. “I am very excited and am looking forward to it. Rockstar was an intense film for me, so after the shooting I was a little depressed and detached. This film is like a breath of fresh air, it’s a happy film like the initial films of Chaplin. It’s joyful and entertaining. Like a family film,” he said. “Anurag Basu is a very happy, jovial person and I feel the director’s personality always reflects in the film. I feel when you see the film, you will see a lot of him. Everyone will like the film,” he added. In Barfi!, Ranbir’s performance has been compared to Chaplin in his comedies, as well of his grandfather Raj Kapoor, but he said even though there are similarities, he has just tried to incorporate whatever his director wanted. “Chaplin is the father of comedy, all actors who have come in the industry have been influenced by him. My grandfather Raj Kapoor himself was inspired by Chaplin. But I have not tried to copy him in Barfi!, I have tried to play Barfi! in my own and Anurag Basu’s way,” he said.
