Ranbir to play a deaf-mute in 'Barfee'

Mumbai: Though Ranbir Kapoor plays a deaf and mute man in Anurag Basu's Barfee, his character would be no sad sack but a happy-go-lucky chap.

For some months, Anurag concentrated on instilling a positivity and laughter into the script before he began shooting and decided to make Barfee a positive life-affirming film with plenty of humour, music, dancing and singing.

The title of the film was changed from the dark "Silence" to the sweet-and-cute "Barfee". The film will now have as many as 10-12 songs, although the hero doesn't talk or speak.

Said a source: "Anurag Basu was earlier working simultaneously on his two Ranbir Kapoor projects Barfee and Kishore (the Kishore Kumar bio-pic) for UTV. In the past few months, he abandoned Kishore to focus on altering and fine-tuning Barfee."

"Though Ranbir's character of Barfee cannot hear or speak, he will be shown to be a happy-go-lucky sod. He will be goofy and fun-loving, making others laugh while laughing at his own debilitating disabilities."

In the film, Ranbir stars with Priyanka Chopra, who plays a mentally challenged girl.