Murphy “Barfi” Johnson (Ranbir Kapoor) is an optimistic, street-wise, charming young man who was born deaf-mute to a Nepali couple in Darjeeling. His mother died when he was a baby and his father raised him alone, while working as a chauffeur. Barfi is known as a troublemaker – he cuts lampposts, plays practical jokes on innocent people, and is chased by Sudhanshu Dutta (Saurabh Shukla), a local police officer. Barfi meets Shruti Ghosh (Ileana D’Cruz), who has just arrived in Darjeeling; she is engaged to Ranjit Sengupta (Jisshu Sengupta), and is due to get married in three months, and Barfi is immediately smitten with Shruti. She also falls in love with Barfi but her mother dissuades her from pursuing him because he could not take care of her with his disabilities and lack of money. Shruti takes her mother’s advice, gets married, and moves to Kolkata, breaking all contact with Barfi.