New Delhi: The first trailer of Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Barfi!’ has generated good enthusiasm among the spectators. At the first glance, it appears to be a promising film. Whatsoever of the film is revealed so far, gives the audiences a hope that the film could be a nice story to watch.

The promo mainly focuses on Ranbir Kapoor whose last film ‘Rockstar’ had fetched him accolades from all quarters. This time again, he seems to be the centre of attraction. Apparently, Ileana D’Cruz is playing the narrator while Priyanka Chopra is essaying the character of a mentally challenged girl.

Ranbir had a normal star kid debut in ‘Saawariya’. He was given all the attention as the new scion of the Kapoor family, but the film’s bad performance at the box office made him realise the importance of good and different roles. ‘Wake Up Sid’ and ‘Rocket Singh’ gave a glimpse of his latent acting potential. ‘Raajneeti’ strengthened his position as an actor but the real transformation happened with Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rockstar’. He was way ahead of his contemporaries in a swift move.

He dared to enact role that was not conventional as per the typical ‘hero’ standard of Bollywood. Other actors of his age group such as Imran Khan and Shahid Kapoor are still playing the boy next door kind of characters where the entire focus remains on looking good and innocent. Ranbir, on the other hand, risked his image of a lover boy in ‘Raajneeti’ and ‘Rockstar’.

Now, ‘Barfi!’ shows him as a deaf and dumb boy. The trailer suggests the presence of dark traits in his character. The director Anurag Basu is known for his multilayered characterisation. ‘Life in a Metro’, ‘Gangster’ and ‘Kites’ demonstrated his hold on the subtleties of a character. Further, after the ‘Kites’ debacle, ‘Barfi!’ is very important for him too if he has to defend his place among today’s sought after directors. Thus he is expected to pump in Ranbir’s character with well defined nuances.

India hasn’t witnessed many films on disabilities, so Ranbir will be enjoying extra pressure to make it look less Bollywood-ish and more realistic. Ranbir has repeatedly urged the audiences to not associate ‘Barfi!’ with disability but he knows the importance of playing a deaf and dumb character with sensibility, a single wrong step and the entire film would fall flat.

Ranbir Kapoor has proved his worth as an actor and the first trailer indicates that he is going to do it again. ‘Barfi!’ might increase the gap between him and his contemporary actors many folds. He would be hoping for the best.