1 Line Review: Watch it for Alia.
Veera Tripathi (Alia Bhatt) is a happy go lucky girl from a very rich family and is about to get married in few days. She is fed up of all the rituals and other ceremonies going on in her house. One night she calls her fiancé and goes out for a long drive, while at a Petrol station, she gets kidnapped by few thieves [headed by Mahabir Bhati (Randeep Hooda)] who were in the process of looting that very place.
And the journey called Highway beings and they take this path…
Alia Bhatt is the backbone of the movie. Frankly, I still have that Student of The Year image of her in my mind hence she looked like a school kid to me. But her performance was top notch in that movie and so it is here in Highway as well. Guess, as you watch the film, her capability as a great actor builds on you. Mind you, this is just her 2nd film and she is already making waves. Her next movie releases in April – 2 States (based on a novel by Chetan Bhagat). Am a big fan of Jennifer Lawrence and I feel what Jennifer is to Hollywood, Alia is to Bollywood! BTW, Alia got NINE nominations in various awards for SOTY!
Highway, as the name suggests takes you through various places in North India from Delhi to Kashmir via Punjab, Haryana, HP and Rajasthan. The shots are mesmerizing, especially the 1st location where Veera is kept hostage and even left to run away but comes back as there was no where to go! Watch that railway line. Awesome locale. Then everything in Himachal and Kashmir is out of this world (Am a big fan of Ladakh), you got to be there to understand what exactly it really feels to be surrounded by snow capped mountains.
Since Veera was fed of her family and the city culture she started enjoying her kidnapping saga (Yes!) and that made Mahabir think hard. Veera gets to the places in his mind where no one has ever gone and that makes him cringe as he is a criminal and there could not be any future with this so-cute-city-girl. With the background that Veera comes from, where everyone is rich but poor from inside, she find a good man in Mahabir. Watch the scene where Veera explains the cruelty inside her so-called-rich-family. Hence she never wants this Highway journey to end, even when she gets multiple chances to go back.
Watch how one of his accomplice tries to get close to Veera. One of his dialogue is just too funny – ‘Hum Hain’, you will know what I mean. The other partner ‘Aadoo’ is too cute (wait till he starts dancing). Randeep is a fine actor and his portrayal of an intense criminal is well played. Two places where Alia get into monologues are the impressive parts of Highway.
And what do I tell you about the music. A R Rahman is the music director. Do I need to say anything more? Patakha Guddi and Mahi Ve are the best songs. When the credit rolls you will hear A R Rahman singing Patakha Guddi. Also pay attention to Alia’s voice in that lullaby song.
Imtiaz Ali has written, co-produced and directed the movie. Hats off, it came out well. I have loved his earlier movies – Jab We Met and Rockstar. He is even directing another journey based movie called ‘Window Seat’ starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. Or is it called ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani‘ Part 2! 🙂
Go watch Highway, for Alia will impress you.
Cool Review Aditya. Agree with you, Alia is superb in the film. 🙂
thankyou. Yup. She rocked! 🙂