2 States

The book was splendid. I didn't have much expectations for none of the cast is in my favorites list. However, 20 minutes into the non-linear screenplay, I was dumbstruck at the very charming adaptation.

Starting with a tuneful version of Georges Bizet's wildly famous Carmen Habañera Suite, the titles start with Krish, played perfectly by Arjun Kapoor, speaking to a therapist. The story is told from his point of view till the end. The college life romance is amazingly captured with magnificent photography. Alia Bhatt's Ananya character is perhaps the most important in her career; she's all glimmering throughout. She is hot, lovely & faultless. Only the direction by Abhishek Varman seemed a tad amateurish.

All love happens in the first half and before the climax, you are treated with Chennai's atmosphere. Coupled with mild humor and humongous romance, it is a sure treat for hungry eyes; it has a lesson or two in courtship. Then, the second half highlights the period after love: how the families have to like each other and how the lovebirds cajole them with undivided attention. Now this phase is heavily melodramatic but you won't feel bored because Amrita Singh, Shiv Kumar Subramaniam, Revathi & Ronit Roy are so imbibed with their portrayals, you will definitely fall in love with them. The latter two just up the ante that the film just moves 2-3 notches higher.

Whoever did the costume work deserves long rounds of applause for that is the factor that pushes the wagon to the star. Art department is equally fantastic, mostly the sequences towards the climax and that of weddings/parties/festivals. Good dialogs & brilliant music & score intensifies the experience.

Although, the reality quotient drops 2-3 notches down as the characters only seem to do what would advance the movie. No references are made of their work, let only anyone's work or life other than the specific point it is trying to make. Maybe the writers failed to gather the characters together with their nuances with respect to how they are in real life. But that is not a concern here.

Running for about 150 minutes, it speaks about romance, marriage - its politics & apolitical elements, relationships & the stereotypes of inter- regional marriage. It was a pleasant experience.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are looking for a universal melodrama, coupled with mild humor & romance, 2 States is the staple movie to go for this weekend. 9/10.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? Not really, but you can give it a try. See the irony?

A super lame first half followed up with a rocking second half. One could sum this up in the following ways:

1. There are just certain literature which looks super entertaining while watching but make for very predictable and boring reading.

2. While Indians dish out romantic stories by the dozen the treatment is so shabby that you often wonder how the hell did the chemistry build up. On the other hand, you ask them to show conflicting relative and family issues and they dish out a sucker punch. Here it seemed that the director knew that the first half is just meh and the real strength lies in the second half of the movie. So quick was he to dismiss the chemistry that you could blink and miss it.

3. If there was a direct to movie concept in book writing , Chetan Bhagat should officially consider that instead of going the traditional publisher's way.

And last but not the least!

4. Seldom are movies so mainstream and yet celebrate its side actors and character artists so wonderfully. For every effervescent reaction by Alia, Amrita Singh showed why she is such a treat to watch. Ronit Roy turned up and put on all the right moves in reprising his role as the father fighting with his own demons. Revathy and Shivkumar were brilliant as Ananya's parents representing the other side of the spectrum. The struggles of coping with pushy relatives and their own demons at the altars of their sons and daughters done so tastefully and with such restraint. You could almost root for them and hope that they get more and more screen time and that, folks is a rare sight in mainstream Bollywood!

Based on a novel by Chetan Bhagat, 2 States aims to present a young love story marred by cultural differences, and the film is just about how two young students struggle to convince their clashing families to accept their relationship. The film is modern, pleasant and fun, and the premise could not be more interesting, but it's never genuine enough to be really taken notice of, mainly because everything is handled with a constant touch of corny sentimentality and an evident lack of conviction. Having said that, the film is quite enjoyable in spite of many of its flaws and despite the fact that one of its primary false notes is the relationship between the two main leads, which is totally unconvincing and lacking in depth. Then again, I think the film hardly manages to ever break away from what is essentially a stereotypical and outdated story, and not because of the story as much as the weak portrayal of the families. Something is missing there, everything is just very banal and superficial, and very rarely throughout the film do you really experience the beauty of the Punjabi or Tamil cultures, as conservative as they may be.

That said, it is there actually where the film is saved, simply because the supporting cast of senior actors gives great experience to their parts and does the most of what they are given. Well it goes without saying that Amrita Singh is the film's biggest asset since hers is both the funniest and most moving performance. She is the typical Punjabi mom at some instances, and the compassionate, dedicated person at others, doing everything with her strong screen presence. Ronit Roy is good albeit this is practically the same role he played in Udaan, which is not a good thing not only because of typecasting but also because this is not a very good film and here his character is lacking in development and has a change of heart which is too good to be true. Revathi delivers a fine, understated performance, and so does Shiv Kumar Subramaniam. Then we have the main lead, and they are just lost with so-so roles and have zero chemistry. Arjun Kapoor is expressionless, and while this might be the character, it just doesn't work and he comes across far too wooden for his own good. Alia Bhatt is bubbly and cute but is nothing to write home about.

2 States is not a very good film, but it is good entertainment. The music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is not too memorable for me this time, but it is very pleasant to the ears and nicely carries the narrative forward. While I expected more from the young leads, the supporting cast more than makes up for that. All of them are let down by the predictably sugarcoated end, but let it be. This is just for fun, and it does provide it here and there and is a good watch for the family.

2 States had me in two states of mind. While it's mostly simple and light hearted first half made me look forward to the rest of the movie, the darker and grittier, though somewhat predictable 2nd half made me sit up and take notice of the proceedings.

This tale is essentially that of two much in love IIM Graduates from two corners of India wishing to have their culturally clashing and hard to woo families completely accept their alluring alliance. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Chetan Bhagat, the film for me gets full marks in the screenplay adaptation department. Alas, sometimes the editing, tying up of lose ends from a storytelling perspective (what happens to the psychiatry sessions? When does it end), and staple Bollywood melodrama (or the lack thereof in the tame ending) makes for wishful film viewing.

What worked for me was the terrific chemistry and naturally effortless performances of the lead actors. Alia gets full marks for her terrific portrayal of Tamilian Ananya (despite her being a thorough North Indian girl - this being her third film, this is one girl to watch out for over and over again). Arjun inches close for his gritty and multi layered portrayal of Krish (I wish there was a bit more body language/voice modulation/effort to portray the 7 years younger character, or the slightly older father of two kids).

The supporting cast is tremendous too! Be it Ronit Roy in the stupendous special appearance as the father fighting his inner demons, or Amrita Singh with her loud mouthed yet large hearted portrayal of Krish's mother. Revathi and Shivkumar as Ananya's parents are subtle and nuanced and add the required pathos to the story at just the right time. I especially loved Revathi's rendition of 'Kaho Na Pyaar Hai' and Shiv's almost childlike reactions to the same. The direction is naturally delightful (a great debut by Abhishek Varman), the screenplay superb, the music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy hummable (especially the excellently filmed 'Locha E Ulfat'), and the cinematography by Binod Pradhan just right, making this perfect as far as the technical requirements are concerned. Some loose ends could have been tied better, had the editor - Namrata Rao been allowed some more screen time (was it the over expectations from her post Kahaani?). But this is a glitch that can be safely ignored in an otherwise effective film.

Though some scenes of intimacy could have been done without, this is indeed a great family watch that strangely will teach you a thing or two about why, how, and when family matters. Watch it for a fluffy slice of life. Don't expect the stars, and you might just moon over this not so typical Bollywood Romance. Go for it!

Director Mr. Abhishek Varman has done apt work. He has completely justified the one of my favorite book ,2 STATES in its cinematic adaption. There are very few shots of fix block. Otherwise most of the scenes are captured with perfect movement. It gives nice feeling while watching. Director of photography Mr. Vinod Pradhan work is impressive. Complete film carries a vibrant look. Dialogues by Hussain Dalal gel completely with the character and at places tickle the funny bones in smart way. Movie is nice but due to based on the famous book, sometimes it slows down, because they had to justify the book also. I wish length of movie should have been little less. Performance wise Arjun Kapoor is very good. Alia Bhatt looks pretty and performed very well. Amrita Singh, Ronit Roy, Revathy, Shivkumar Subramaniam as Ananya's father has performed very nicely. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is OK.