Billoo Barber is an upcoming Bollywood film starring Shahrukh Khan, Irrfan Khan and Lara Dutta in the lead roles. Produced by Khan himself and directed by Priyadarshan, the film also features Om Puri, Rajpal Yadav and Asrani in supporting roles with guest appearances by actresses Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. The film, which is a remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, has already been remade in Tamil as Kuselan starring Pasupathy and Rajinikanth following a poor box office reception. Currently filming, the project is expected to release on October 24, 2008.

Production

Director Priyadarshan signed on actors Irrfan Khan, Akshay Kumar and Tabu to essay pivotal roles in the film. However, Kumar didn't find the film interesting and opted out of the project whilst Tabu refused the film as she didn't want to work with Irrfan Khan. The director then offered Kumar's and Tabu's role to Shahrukh Khan and Amisha Patel respectively, and both of them agreed to do the film.

Patel later opted out of the film as she felt her character's role was not substantial enough and sources had indicated that Juhi Chawla was signed on for the role. In April 2008, the director announced that he had signed on Lara Dutta to essay the role of the barber's wife. The cast began filming for the project on April 8, 2008 and according to Shahrukh Khan, "the film is a sweet story of friendship...quite similar to the bond shared between Krishna and Sudama." The film will also have guest appearances by actresses Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, who are reportedly doing item numbers in the film.

Story

The story is set in today's day and age. Billo (Irrfan Khan) plays a village barber. His business is running low because he has not been able to upgrade himself according to the changing trends. One fine day, a film unit visits his village to shoot a movie. It stars a superstar (SRK), who was once Billo's school friend. All at once, Billo's status in the village changes, and he becomes highly respected. Everyone wants him to meet the superstar. But Billo is unsure, as he feels he cannot compare to the superstar's status. Besides, he fears that the star may not recognize him. He makes many attempts to meet the star but fails. After all these hardships, he gives up. But people think that he lied about the relationship with the star and start insulting him. His family and children also gets upset.

In the end, for an invited school function, the star reveals his past. He tells the audience that in his school days he had a friend who always stood by him in his hardships. He tells how much the friend helped him by providing food when he was hungry, provided clothes when he did not have any. He tells that the friend gave him the money to join acting by selling his ancestral ear ring and that friend happens to be Billo.

At that time the people recognize about Billo and the movie happily ends.

Cast

    * Irrfan Khan ... Billoo
    * Shahrukh Khan ... Superstar Actor
    * Lara Dutta ... Billoo's Wife
    * Om Puri ...
    * Paresh Rawal ...
    * Rajpal Yadav ...
    * Manoj Joshi ...
    * Asrani ...
    * Kareena Kapoor ... Guest appearance
    * Deepika Padukone ... Guest appearance
    * Priyanka Chopra ... Guest appearance