At times, Highway feels like an unending Bharat darshan, a long look at suffering souls through several deserts and eucalyptus trees. Imtiaz Ali must be congratulated for his daring novelty, for a powerful heroine-centric story, for his heroine who looks like a Vermeer painting dressed in a dusty ghaghra. Alongside, Aaroo (Durgesh Kumar), Mahavir's companion, who breaks into a delightful trance-wala dance with Veera as she sways to 'English music' on the road, is memorable.īut what stamps this film indelibly is its sheer boldness. Hooda's Mahavir is frightening, tightly controlled, the actor conveying dark dislike with crackling tension, switching to bewilderment with comic ease. Bhatt's range and prowess are evident in her timid confidence, the slow swagger Veera gains as she takes control of the situation, captivating her captor, confronting assault. Her Veera is stunning - sincere and simple, prettily earnest, shakily emotional. I don’t mean big singing and dancing numbers, but there were some moments where I thought songs they had released in the soundtrack could have fitted really well.Īnd while it may fit the model of the stereotypical Bollywood film, it feels a cut above it.Highway belongs unabashedly to Alia Bhatt. It wasn’t so much the quality of songs, but the lack of them during the film. The songs sort of brought it down it a bit. Filming took place in some of India’s most picturesque locations, as the story took place on the roads traveling through the six states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himchal Pradesh and Kashmir.
Both gave a wonderful performance, especially Alia, as this was a new genre of film for her, having only done coming-of-age and romantic films beforehand. The film stars Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda in the roles of Veera and Mahabir, respectively. And then it all settled down to this journey of two characters’.Īnd then it all settled down to this journey of two characters And over time, it changed form and genres until I just gave up.
Some years ago, I made a half-hour episode for a TV series and that’s where I first got a hint for this story. But with Highway, there was something very subtle, yet something very influential. Usually you lose interest in a story beyond a certain point.
There was something in it that didn’t die. He states ‘“Highway” has been a story that has stayed with me for 15 years. They bond over both having experience of an abusive childhood, before settling in the mountains, where tragedy strikes when Veera’s family manage to locate her.ĭirector, Imtiaz Ali, who had also directed the 2011 Bollywood blockbuster, ‘Rockstar’, which I also recommend, first came up with the idea 15 years prior to the film’s release, when writing a script for Zee TV’s drama, Rishtey.
At one point in the movie, Veera has the chance to escape and be free of her captors, as they are stopped at a police check point, but much to Mahabir’s, and her own, surprise, she hides, allowing them to continue with their journey. Slowly but surely, Veera and her captor, Mahabir, fall prone to Stockholm Syndrome, where the victim begins to empathise with the kidnapper. What follows is Veera’s journey, discovering herself while being in a kidnapped state. Veera is abducted in the process, with Vinay doing nothing to help. Both are caught up in an armed robbery gone wrong, where the culprits run towards the one getaway option they have Veera’s car. Despite his arguing, Veera gets out the car, and that’s when it all goes wrong. Anxious for his safety more than anything, Vinay reluctantly pulls into a petrol pump, in order to make it back home. So on the eve of her wedding, she convinces her fiancé, Vinay, to take her on a late night drive, away from the bright lights of her home, and onto one of India’s unlit highways, allowing the wind to blow in her face. She longs to be free from the chains of society, and dreams of something much simpler than her lavish life. Veera Tripathi, a girl born into a privileged family, but with a dark past, is a dreamer. Some obviously, some less obviously, but very few Bollywood films have got it as right as Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Highway’. In fact, almost all Bollywood films follow this pattern. Usually, when anyone ever mentions Bollywood, the first thing that pops mind is another long film where boy meets girl, they have a song and dance and fight and then get married at the end. …very few Bollywood films have got it as right as Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Highway’.
Famed for his rants and reviews, Sami Ullah finds himself in fine spirits watching Bollywood film ‘Highway’.