Production notes

During the production of his previous directorial venture Kites (2010), director Anurag Basu wrote a two-page short story which was later developed into the script of Barfi!. The film script that Basu wrote alternated between two time periods, and he retained the nonlinear narrative structure. He said that the script required a 30-year time span for the characters' love to grow and thus set the backdrop of the film in the 1970s. In June 2010, Anurag Basu confirmed that his film would feature three lead roles, a deaf-mute man, a mentally challenged girl, and a narrator. With former titles like Khamoshi or Silence, media reports said the story was grim or dark. However, Basu stated that on the contrary, the film was happy. According to Basu, he paid homage to Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin by adding scenes inspired by the era of silent cinema and using physical comedy in the film, involving silent portions.

In March 2010, it was reported that Ranbir Kapoor and Asin Thottumkal were signed to play the lead roles in the film before being replaced by Katrina Kaif then titled Khamoshi and later Silence, which Basu confirmed. Basu wanted to cast Asin Thottumkal for the role of Jhilmil, an autistic girl. Basu's wife, Tani suggested Chopra's name for the role. However, Basu feared that the audience would see "the Priyanka Chopra" and not the character due to Chopra's stardom. Basu explained "I had the fear that I would see Priyanka Chopra in the character and Jhilmil wouldn't work. This has happened in many films where known faces have harmed the character." Priyanka Chopra was cast to play the part but, the development was not announced as Basu wanted to workshop first and see how it goes. After three days of workshop, Basu was convinced that Chopra could play the part and reflected that he was glad that he chose Chopra for the role. Later, Basu revealed that he did not approach any actress after Chopra for the part. After Chopra was cast in the film, Kaif left the project for unknown reasons. Media reported that she may have opted out of the film because Chopra had been given a stronger role. Later, media reported that Asin Thottumkal was approached to play the role of the narrator once again, replacing Kaif. However, Asin refused the offer due to date clashes. Media reported that no other actress wanted to sign for the film because according to them, Chopra's part was stronger. In July 2010, Mumbai Mirror reported that Chopra was ready to play the role of narrator, so that another actress could be cast in the film as she did not want the film to stall. Basu confirmed this development and said, "It's true we've been unable to cast the other part." After facing several casting problems, Basu chose to cast a completely new fresh face to play the second female role. In early December 2010, Ileana D'Cruz, an actress who worked in Telugu films, was finalised for the second female lead, featuring as narrator and Kapoor's first love interest in the film, thus making her debut in Bollywood with the film.

Kapoor played the role of a deaf and mute man in the film. According to Kapoor, he took inspiration from screen legends such as Roberto Benigni, Charlie Chaplin and his grandfather Raj Kapoor. Due to the protagonist's physical disability, Basu did not want to use any sign language but, some behavioural patterns in the film. Kapoor described his character as a regular, happy-go-lucky and good-hearted guy. Chopra played the role of Jhilmil. Basu described Chopra's role as the "toughest" in the film. To prepare for the role, Chopra visited several mental institutions and spent time with autistic people. She said she had to research a little for the role because in India awareness about autism is very low. Chopra told that she had to let go of every inhibition probably that she had as a Hindi film heroine and play Jhilmil without thinking of it. She explained that she needed two moments to become Jhilmil because she didn't identify with her character due to the difference between her thoughts and behaviour. D'cruz, who portrayed the narrator and first love interest of the protagonist said "Shruti, is such a sensitive role to play as she goes to different phases in the film." According to Basu, after Kapoor, Chopra and D'cruz's characters, Saurabh Shukla's character as Inspector Dutta was the most important. Basu described the role as an "amazing" character, who makes others cry when he laughs.

Principal photography commenced in March 2011. Barfi! was shot between June 2011 and February 2012, mostly in Darjeeling. In March 2011, Basu visited Kolkata to finalize the locations within the city. Filming in Mumbai began on 20 March 2011 and continued until May 2011. In June 2011, the cast and crew shot in Darjeeling. In December 2011, some scenes were filmed on the outskirts of Coimbatore, especially Pollachi and Ooty. The scenes in which Kapoor's character is chased by policemen over the roof tops were shot in Kolkata at the end of January 2012. Shooting was completed by April 2012, except for some scenes featuring Chopra. The producers postponed the release from 13 July to 31 August 2012 as the September 2011 shooting schedule was cancelled and was waiting to be shot. However, Basu began working on D'Cruz's dubbing portions by end of April 2012, because D'Cruz was unfamiliar with the Hindi language and wanted to learn it whilst filming.

Barfi! received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with critics praising the cast performances, direction, screenplay, cinematography, music and the positive portrayal of physically disabled people. Zee News gave the film 5 out of 5 stars and said, "[a]ll in all, Anurag Basu's Barfi! is a perfect sweet treat for his audience. Like it has been discussed, those film-makers who have been portraying the handicapped as dull and boring in their films must take a lesson from Barfi!. Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India gave the film a 4/5 rating and said, "Kapoor, in the most challenging performance of his career leaves us 'dumbstruck'. Without use of conventional crutches of cool-catchphrases, dhamaakedaar-dialogbaazi, bare-bodies, and other 'items'; he stuns you in every single frame. For Chopra, there's only one word – BRAVO! In a role where she needs to under-emote, she does so brilliantly (delivering an incredible performance)." Roshni Devi of Koimoi said, "Barfi! leaves you with that warm, cuddly, magical feeling with a few tears to match. It's really worth a watch" and gave it an overall score of 3.5 stars out of 5. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said, "Barfi is akin to a whiff of fresh air. Its foremost triumph is that it leaves you with a powerful emotion: Happiness!" Indo-Asian News Service gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said, "Barfi! comes as close to being a modern masterpiece as cinematically possible. To miss it would be a crime. To embrace it is to serenade the sublime". Aniruddha Guha of Daily News and Analysis rated the film 4 out of 5 and remarked that movie "engages you at a personal level", and further added that, "Barfi cannot be missed. It demands patience, but the payoff is incredible". Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph said, "The brilliance of Barfi! is that it's no story and all storytelling. It's about a director at the top of his game orchestrating terrific talent into a bravura crescendo. Only someone who has shown death the door can open windows to life like this." Filmfare gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and stated, "Barfi! is that rare film that can make you smile and make you cry in the same scene. Its technical brilliance is only outdone by its emotional complexity and depth. Pritam's music adds a nice silent-era charm to this already fantastic story, making it an occasion when words simply aren't enough." Raja Sen of Rediff.com has given 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Barfi! is a well-crafted script with an intriguing back-and-forth narrative but it all goes south towards the end." Anupama Chopra writing for Hindustan Times gave it 3 out 5 stars and wrote, "[t]his is a film made with love, bolstered by wonderfully etched vignettes, Kapoor and Chopra's stupendous performances and a gorgeous soundtrack by Pritam. And yet, for me, Barfi! was a singularly frustrating experience there was so much to like, but the film never became more than the sum of its parts". Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave 3 out of 5 stars and said, "Barfi! had the potential to be great cinema, but as it stands it's a respectable film that's still better than a lot else you're likely to see." On the contrary, Namrata Joshi of Outlook felt that "The flashback within flashback narrative gets way too clumsy and turgid, the thriller twist absolutely pointless [....] appears much too crafted and self-consciously gorgeous, and feels eminently facile and plastic".

The film received high critical acclaim overseas as well. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10. Rachel Saltz of The New York Times said, "Bollywood isn't afraid to be mawkish. Barfi! is at times, though not noticeably more so than most Hindi movies, despite its premise of special lovers with a special lesson to teach." Lisa Tsering The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a refreshingly non-commercial exercise" and added that "poignant Bollywood romantic comedy". On the performances of the cast, she wrote, "[...] Basu has guided Kapoor, and especially Chopra, to turn in exceptionally restrained, organic performances."" Ronnie Scheib of Variety wrote, "Unlike Michel Hazanavicus' black-and-white silent homage "The Artist", Basu's film bursts with sound and color; only the speaking- and hearing-impaired Basu is condemned to silence." Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times was more critical of the film, despite praising aspect including "the hard-working cast, a lush score, exotic location shooting and scattered warmth", called it as "more of an endurance test than entertainment."

Barfi! has received various awards and nominations in categories ranging mostly from recognition of the film itself to its direction, screenplay, cinematography, music, to the cast's performances. The film was selected as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film nomination for the 85th Academy Awards. The film received a leading 13 nominations at the 58th Filmfare Awards, and won a leading 7 awards, including Best Film, Best Actor (Kapoor), Best Female Debut (D'Cruz) and Best Music Director (Pritam). Barfi! received a leading 23 nominations at the 19th Screen Awards, winning 9, including Best Director (Basu), Best Actor (Kapoor), and Jodi No. 1 (Kapoor and Chopra). At the 14th Zee Cine Awards, Barfi! received 9 nominations, and won 8 awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Basu) and Best Actress (Chopra).

Upon its release, Barfi! started strongly at multiplexes throughout India, with around 80–90% occupancy, but had lower opening takings because of a limited release. The film grossed ₹85.6 million (US$890,000) on its opening day. Its second day saw an increase of around 35% occupancy and collected ₹115 million (US$1.2 million). In its opening weekend, the film grossed ₹340 million (US$3.5 million). In its first week, Barfi! collected ₹565 million (US$5.9 million) nett, and by its eighth day had earned ₹32.5 million (US$340,000) despite the release of Heroine. Barfi! earned ₹150 million (US$1.6 million) in its second weekend. Barfi! had a good second week where it has collected ₹242 million (US$2.5 million) nett. In the third week, the film's takings rose to ₹158 million (US$1.6 million) nett. and it took ₹61.5 million (US$640,000) in its fourth week. During its cinematic release period, Barfi! earned a gross total of ₹1.06 billion (US$11 million) in India. The all-India distributor share of the film was ₹500 million (US$5.2 million). The film became one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2012 in India, and was declared a "Super Hit" after its three-week run by Box Office India. The film went on to gross ₹1.75 billion (US$18 million) worldwide. Internationally, Barfi earned around ₹124 million (US$1.3 million) in its opening weekend, slightly exceeding Raajneeti – which had collected ₹116 million (US$1.2 million) – By the end of its run, Barfi! had grossed $6.25 million outside India, and it became one of the highest overseas grossing Bollywood films of 2012.