Barfi!

In 1972 in Darjeeling, Murphy, universally known as Barfi, is a charming and optimistic young man born deaf and mute. Raised by his father, Jungbahadur, a humble chauffeur, after his mother's death during childbirth, Barfi develops into a notorious local troublemaker whose whimsical antics frequently leave him fleeing the local police chief, Inspector Sudhanshu Dutta. Barfi's life changes when he crosses paths with Shruti Ghosh, an educated young woman who has recently arrived in town. Although Shruti is engaged to be married, she quickly falls in love with the smitten Barfi. Her mother intervenes, warning her that Barfi’s lack of wealth and physical disabilities would make a stable future impossible. Reluctantly yielding to her mother's pragmatism, Shruti breaks off contact, marries her fiancé, and leaves Darjeeling. Sometime later, Jungbahadur suffers from severe kidney failure, leaving Barfi desperate to raise ₹7,000 for his life-saving surgery. Following a botched, chaotic attempt to rob a local bank, Barfi turns to a desperate alternative: kidnapping his autistic childhood friend, Jhilmil Chatterjee, who is the wealthy heiress to her grandfather's fortune. When Barfi arrives at her estate, he discovers that Jhilmil has already been abducted by professional criminals, prompting her corrupt father, Durjoy, to arrange a ₹50,000 ransom. While evading Inspector Dutta after the bank robbery, Barfi spots Jhilmil trapped inside a getaway van. He sneaks aboard, drives the van away, and shelters Jhilmil in his apartment. Barfi issues a scaled-down ransom note for ₹7,000 to Durjoy, collects the cash, and races to the hospital, only to discover that his father passed away just before the payment could be processed. Devastated, Barfi attempts to leave Jhilmil at her old caretaker’s village, but she adamantly refuses to leave his side. Recognizing her deep emotional attachment to him, Barfi takes Jhilmil to Kolkata, assuming full responsibility for her well-being. In 1978, Barfi and Shruti happen to cross paths and reunite in Kolkata. Shruti, trapped in an unhappy marriage, rekindles her close bond with Barfi. This sudden intimacy triggers intense anxiety and jealousy in Jhilmil, who abruptly vanishes into the sprawling city. When a frantic Shruti files a missing person report, Inspector Dutta tracks the lead from Darjeeling, leading to Barfi's immediate arrest under suspicion of foul play. Shruti's relentless efforts to legally defend Barfi estrange her husband, who permanently abandons her. During Barfi's interrogation, a new ransom demand is made in Darjeeling, and Jhilmil is seemingly killed during a botched exchange, though her body is never recovered. Inspector Dutta is deeply perplexed as to why a ransom note would materialize in Darjeeling for a girl who had been residing secretly in Kolkata for over half a decade. Eager to close the high-profile case, the police administration prepares to frame Barfi for Jhilmil's murder. However, Inspector Dutta, who has grown genuinely fond of Barfi over years of investigation, quietly releases him to Shruti, urging them to start over. Shruti complies, secretly hoping that with Jhilmil gone, she can finally build a life with Barfi. Barfi, however, is completely broken by Jhilmil’s absence, rendering his life with Shruti empty and unfulfilled. Driven by intuition, he deciphers Jhilmil's old wall scribbles to locate her childhood care home. He takes Shruti along to investigate, leading to a major revelation: Jhilmil is alive. Her initial abduction had been staged by her own father to embezzle money from her trust fund. In the second instance, Jhilmil's father colluded with the caretakers of her former foster home to fake her death. This allowed Jhilmil to return to a safe environment away from her abusive, alcoholic mother, while her father successfully liquidated the remaining estate left behind by her late grandfather. Witnessing their profound bond, Shruti steps aside as Barfi and Jhilmil happily reunite and marry, spending the rest of her life alone but finding solace in their happiness. In 2012, an elderly Barfi lies dying in a hospital room. Jhilmil arrives at his bedside and climbs in to hold him, and the two pass away peacefully at the exact same moment, completely inseparable in both life and death.

Plot from Barfi!CC BY-SA 4.0