Melange

In search of inspiration, I always end up either reading books or watching movies. Last week, I saw 2states and Highway. These were pending in my list from long time. Among the two, Highway swept away my heart to a dreamland, and I have never come back since.

2 States

I started watching 2 states online, though not in HD quality. Since I had read the book, I knew the story, the characters and the ending. I had not much expectations anyway. Hence any watchable quality was enough.

A couple of things did not went well me. I mean, how could they film a Tamil Brahmin “pennu kaanal”(meeting the girl) without even a single necklace on the girl’s neck! It never happens. And how can a tamilian speak Hindi so fast! The song of the character was pitched on an entirely wrong note. The “besura“(absurd) voice was heard again, when the male character, the protagonist, who was painted all shy and “seedha saadha” started dancing for the cousin’s wedding… There was also a clichéd south Indian dance during that song. I wondered whether the screenplay would bring in any changes for the hero to fight off a newly introduced villain at the end, like in the yesteryear films. Thankfully it did not happen. The main crux of the film, being the father-son chemistry and how it got reconciled, was never shown clearly. I missed a long sentimental dialogue from the father. I missed the fiery amazing performance by Ronit Roy which he was capable of, as if his role was wasted.

I loved Amrita Singh. She was the total Punjabi mother everyone would love. Arjun and Alia needed some more polishing in their acting skills. There was some amazing photography stills towards the end. The song Chandaniya and Mast Magan kept ringing in your head, even after I finished watching movie. The songs are the only plus point I found in this film.

Highway

The film blurb is very short. Its the journey of how Veera, the rich girl transforms personally when she travels with her kidnapper, Mahabir Bhati, through the roads of Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab and Kashmir.

The visuals are simply great. I miss watching them in the big theatre. They reminded me of my trips to North India, Rajasthan and Badrinath.

Along with the music of A.R.Rahman, the film journey becomes a virtual long drive for the viewers itself along with the main characters. The character sketch of both Veera and Mahabir did confuse me. Though I have heard of Stockholm syndrome, the portrayal was more meant for movie rather than realistic. The film makers have always enjoyed showing the positive side of the villains and this is just one of them. Of how poverty and social status can turn pure hearts into cold blooded criminals. There is also the weaving of dreams, getting out of comfort zones, and emotional personal events fitted during the pitstops.

Randeep Hooda fared much better in his acting and dialogues. The character of Mahabir Bhati is more interesting than Veera, as it has several shades, and the actor portrays them all beautifully. As expected, this has been Alia Bhatt’s best performance till date. The character was portrayed as clumsy and quirky, compared to other people in captivity, but that maybe exactly what the director, Imtiaz Ali envisioned of Veera.

The songs, Maahi Ve from Rahman and Sooha Sooha are the key takeaways of the film. I have noticed that, the songs of A.R Rahman merge into your soul, only if you watch it along the film, and not separately. And it also grows on you. There are many songs of his, which I never liked in one hearing, but which has grown on me after hearing multiple times.

Which are the recent films you saw? Share it in the comments..