Billu Barber(2009)

Billu coming from the stable of Priyadarshan is a modern day version of the mythical Krishna Sudama friendship. The film set in a picturesque village narrates a simple story of a village barber named Bilas Rao Pardesi, Billu to all who finds it hard to make two ends meet for his family of wife and two kids. He lacks the wherewithal to upgrade his dingy salon to changing needs of the villagers.  His and the life of those around him goes for an upheaval when superstar Sahir Khan comes down to the village for a shooting. Things change very fast for Billu from good to bad to finally good again.

As Billu’s insipid life takes an interesting turn with the arrival of the Filmstar Sahir Khan, life of the assorted characters around him also goes for a toss. Caught in these process are an aspiring poet/lyricist, a stingy money lender, Head Mistress of the local school all getting cozirer with Billu for a favour to meet the star.

Billu faces some rough time in the middle when inspite of his repeated attempts he fails to meet Sahir Khan and those around him thinks of him as a liar.

However the best part of the film is reserved for the last 20 minutes where the actor invited as chief guest for a school function reveals his struggling past. He narrates how Billu provided him food when he was hungry, gave him clothes and even fetched him money so that his acting aspirations does not get grounded. Thus the film ends in a happy note with everyone recognizing Billu’s contribution.

The film has a strong star cast with Irfan cleary stealing the show over Sharukh. Lara Dutta for a change plays a simple village house wife, while special appearances by Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra adds up to the glamour quotient.

Pollachi

The idyllic setting of the village as shown in the movie is located in the hinterland of Tamil Nadu at Pollachi just around 40 km from Coimbatore. Located at the foothills of the Anamalai ranges, Pollachi is a hot favourite locale with Tamil and Hindi movies along with many TV commercials. Other than the shooting the entire cast of the movie including SRK stayed in the Shakthi lodge of Pollachi.

Pollachi`s choice as an ideal movie location is marked by many pluses which tilts it to its advantage. Pollachi offers a variety of picturesque locations- hilly backdrop, green crops, good roads. Then there is the pollution free environment with the sky taking a rich blue hue thus making for a perfect picture frame. Local inhabitants are a friendly lot and do not create obstacles while shooting. Above all the place is easily accessible from Coimbatore, a major city just 90 minutes drive away.