Touted as one of the most awaited films of her year,
Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Highway’ has indeed lived up to the hype. The filmmaker who
earlier delivered - ‘Socha Na Tha’, ‘Jab We Met’ and ‘Rockstar’- has now, with
‘Highway’ redefined Indian cinema and raised the bar by adopting a formula
which is absolutely non-commercial. Ali knows best how to tell stories.
‘Highway’ is a breath of fresh air with beautiful
storyline intricately woven with emotions, something that is dearly missing
from cinema these days.
Veera (Alia Bhatt) hails from an affluent and
influential family. Preparations for her wedding are on in full swing and she
is desperate to escape from the formalities of pleasing the guests. She compels
her fiancé to take her out for a drive secretly. But little does she know that
her obstinacy would land her on the ‘Highway’ which would subsequently change
her fate!
Mahavir Bhaati(Randeep Hooda), a contract criminal,
along with his accomplices abducts Veera (Alia Bhatt) without any prior
intention of kidnapping her. He hails from a background that has been subjected
to severe exploitation at the hands of the affluent class and has strong prejudice
against the rich. He is the epitome all what a girl would not want in her man.
After initial resistance, Veera starts showing
symptoms of Stockholm syndrome, feels comfortable amidst her abductors and
surprises them by showing no hostility towards them.
And one fine day, as she discovers newer destinations
on the ‘Highway’, she opens up about her traumatic childhood to Mahavir, who is
otherwise a hardcore criminal. Veera confesses to him that she doesn’t want to
return to her parents and that she is in love with the endless road and wants
to continue travelling aimlessly.
She has been dying to be her own self, do things what
she feels like doing and be the person she wants to be. But her luxurious abode
and her super-rich parents have not been able to provide her with what she has
been earnestly looking for all her life - freedom.
Veera succeeds in bringing alive the human in the
beastlike Mahavir and discovers his love for his mother, who raised him by
toiling hard, facing hardships. His mother has been a victim of domestic
violence at the hands of his father. Though poles apart, Mahavir and Veera, the
two lonely strangers fall in love and leave behind a trail of a strange
love-story.
Randeep Hooda proves to be an actor par excellence.
The character of Mahavir looks tailor-made for him as he delivers an impeccable
performance worth wolf-whistles. He has put in all what he could have to put a
real face to the character Mahavir and by perfecting the typical Haryanvi
accent. It leaves you wondering why he is so underused in Hindi cinema?
Alia Bhatt has talent galore. ‘Student of the Year’
launched her, but ‘Highway has helped Alia announce her arrival into the
industry as a fine actress as well. As Veera, she will make you cry, laugh and
fall in love with her.
The cinematography touches you and helps you interact
with the landscape that is seldom seen on the silverscreen. The snow-capped
mountains, the rivers, the blue horizon and the greenery have been beautifully
captured as if they are characters in the film! They bring the unexplored or
rather the ignored locales of northern India back to like on the big screen.
The background score can’t get better than what you
can hear in the film. And the music is simply magical. Oscar Award winning
music maestro AR Rahman is back again with melodies that will stay with you
forever. The genius has made the most of the folk tradition and thus paid
respect to India’s indigenous music culture that seldom finds a mention these
days.
The dialogues are simple and realistic and will help
you identify with the characters.
The film has its share of small glitches though. The
film is too slow at various junctures and lacks velocity. The silences between
the dialogues are a bit of a drag but maybe that’s intentional.
‘Highway’ emerges as a clear winner. It is not meant
for movie goers who enter the theater hoping to see some bizarre fight
sequences, masaledar drama, naach-gaana or intense love-making scenes.
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