The film received positive reviews. Review aggregator ReviewGang aggregated 7.5 out of 10 stars based on 11 professional critics. Madhureeta Mukherjee of "The Times of India" gave the film a 4.5/5 rating and said, "Ranbir, in the most challenging performance of his career leaves us 'dumbstruck'. Without use of conventional crutches of cool-catchphrases, dhamaakedar-dialogbaazi, bare-bodies, and other 'items'; he stuns you in every single frame. For Priyanka, there's only one word — Bravo! In a role where she needs to under-emote, she does so brilliantly." 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!" Blessy Chettiar from "DNA India" stated, ""Barfi!" leaves you teary-eyed yet happy." She gave a 4.5/5 rating.

Aniruddha Guha of "DNA India" rated the film 4 out of 5 remarking "Barfi cannot be missed. It demands patience, but the payoff is incredible". Raja Sen for Rediff.com has given 3.5/5 stars and opined ""Barfi!" is a well-crafted script with an intriguing back-and-forth narrative but it all goes south towards the end." Anupama Chopra of "Hindustan Times" gave it 3 out 5 stars and noting "This is a film made with love, bolstered by wonderfully etched vignettes, Ranbir Kapoor's stupendous performance 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." However, critics have noted that certain sequences in the film have been lifted from famous comedies of the black-and-white era starring Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. This is particularly true in the scene where Barfi evades the policeman from around a sliding door, where Barfi wakes up on a public statue and yet another scene where he dodges the policeman while struggling on top of a see-sawing ladder.

Reception
সমালোচনা
আইন ঊলংঘা
Promotion