Highway

Well the movie is simple,realistic,beautifully shot,has nice music and is diligently acted.If you are looking for an out of the box movie,this movie is not for you. It is for those soul, who believe more in spiritual form of love rather than physical.It touches you at various level, though revolving around a linear storyline.The movie also touches upon various important social issues without being redundant and preachy such as child abuse,class difference etc.It also never appears to be overacted, though the scene in the second half where Alia confronts ghost of her past seems quite elongated.All in all a good clean family movie with a soulful core and a genuine message you can take back home.One of the best works of Imtiaz after Jab we Met ..one of the most soulful indeed.Though we all know practically in real life a lot of things are not possible ,but these movies sometimes gives us a hope to believe in good ...and in spiritual love.After all some movies are meant to make you oblivious about reality...for sometime.

I have a soft corner for Imtiaz Ali. Dating back to an interaction two decades back. I almost stood up when I first saw Jab We Met. The surprises at every corner of the road traveled by Shahid and Kareena were absolute delights. He evoked a classy sense of humor in Love Aaj Kal and then I watched with disconcert not sure if I had liked RockStar. Having been drunk on the heavenly music of the movie by Maestro A R Rahman and after practically selling Pataka Guddi to everyone who wanted to hear, the wait for the movie was finally worth it.

The verdict straight away. I wanted to stand up again. Just microscopically short of being a marvelous and a great movie. The opening kidnapping scene takes you back to Roja, when another master Mani had led you to the hills and captured them with the camera caressing nature careful not to pollute it with attention too much. I bit my lips praying that the wonderful songs by ARR were not tucked into the screenplay to pop up jarringly to justify themselves.

The film is not about a story. It is about treatment. It is about loving your country well enough to make it appear more alluring than a dozen other over rated countries. It is the ability to see beauty as much in a whole row of dilapidated trucks lost in time as in a snow laden country racing by, or taking the road less traveled alongside a river with virgin gurgling waters.

The protagonist Alia lands up, in a sequence of events, on a road journey with her apparently malicious perpetrator. Being on the run is not used as an excuse to showcase scenery but knowingly used as a tool to allow the individuals who are hurting from deep within to unravel themselves. If you do not allow yourself to be sucked into their lives you may find the plot-line dreary because you cannot connect with the alternating misery and happiness of the main leads.

The girl is from a wealthy and powerful family and appears gung-ho about life. Till the road journey scratches her surface provoking her to abandon efforts to get back to her cozy life and instead tease out the wound which appeared to have healed externally but is hurting deep within. The experience mirrors in the male lead Randeep's evolution in the journey. Brilliantly interweaving personal stories within the main matrix of a kidnapping used as a tool to lay out the emotional wares, Imtiaz is simply outstanding out doing himself in the process and marching into uncharted territory without sacrificing the entertainment index.

Talking too much particulars and specifics of the movie will actually destroy the experience of watching it and the hard work put in creating the various moments an accumulation of which actually completes the experience, will be lost. Softly nudging the story along is AR Rahman with his soulful numbers never ever appearing out of place and taking care never to intrude into the narrative and when it does with Pataka Guddi, Alia simply traces out the music with her fingers in the air. She even sings a lullaby with not a note lost.

There are many winners in this movie. Randeep Hooda, a wonderful actor who has been floundering for some time now trying to make a niche for himself has found his cut with this role. He performs it with the right amount of restraint never once going overboard or hamming to overwhelm his own character.

Director Imtiaz Ali brings a lot of serenity with his very clear presence behind the camera. The editing is seamless aided by great photography except when camera shots on top of a truck giving the front and the back views are totally disconnected, the rear camera showing a well tarred road and the front one showing a narrow rough road. Obviously very bad editing at that point. Perhaps they thought no one would notice it but it jars!

There are wonderful real people all along the screen play and they live up to their individual roles with natural vigor creating memorable characters. Imtiaz merits each character in the story with an uniqueness that allows them to stand out on their own and make a mark in the few moments that they are on screen. Last seen only in Lagaan or Swades.

And as for the main female lead. Dare I say that this is the performance of the year? Perhaps in the last few years only Vidya Balan has come this close with her natural flair in Kahaani. Here we see a full throated performance from Alia who gives herself up to the director and his vision. This is one of the most spirited natural performances in recent times. Be ready to get choked in a final long gut wrenching climax carried on shoulders fully by the young girl. The signs of a star certainly.

Want to be surprised? Want to flush the bad experiences of some bad movies recently? Enter this Zen like audio visual experience. And you will not regret. So why not a full five star rating. Because the film is allowed to intentionally flag at some places making the narrative appear to be taking a pause. But this is highly debatable in terms of the impact they could have on the final output.It is the total sum of all the effects that complete the experience for the audience. It is difficult to believe that the movie has not been shot chronologically. So perfect is the transition from scene to scene. This is a craft difficult to create and easy to comment on. For today I will just applaud! Well done Imtiaz!

When we just begin to loose hope in Hindi Cinema, movies like Highway are made which makes us fall in love with Bollywood all over again. Highway is definitely not a typical Hindi movie made these days. It has a soul in it.

Watching Imtiyaz Ali's movie is like reading a book. Every emotion is expressed in such a way that you remain in a long hangover even days after watching his creation. May it be 'Socha na tha', 'Jab we Met', 'Love aaj kal' , ' rockstar' and now 'Highway' in one point or the other one could relate them self with the characters.

Highway is one such movie where silence is the weapon used with just the characters talking with their performance. They don't need hefty dialogues, well nor do they need mere words to convey the emotions that they are going through.

The most surprising factor was Alia bhat. No one would have imagined after watching SOTY that she could deliver such a terrific performance. But she has nailed it as Veera. Veera makes us smile, cry and also laugh when least expected and makes us fall in love with her. Randeep Hooda is up to the mark. Mahabir is tailor made character for Randeep. I cant imagine anyone playing Mahabir with such an ease.

Not to forget, the major credit goes to cinematographer as well. The location are captured in such a way that you can almost smell the Highway and feel the chill of chilling mountains. I could not afford to even wink my eyes, especially in the second half of the movie as the screen has turned so mesmerizing which has a capacity to leave ones eyes struck to the screen and the mouth open in an awe.

I heard few people complaining that the climax is not satisfactory. But, I personally think that this was the perfect climax for such a story.

The movie will stay with you long after you are out of the cinema hall. Which rarely happen these days.

Don't go to watch it with high expectations. You will be disappointed. Just go with a calm mind and slowly get indulge in the beauty of this magical movie.

THIS MOVIE IS A MASTERPIECE...This movie has a soul...a silent scream of a person that has nowhere to go and no one to speak to...and so life is just a HIGHWAY !! Two people from different economic strata, brought together by fate, yet having similar childhood of mistrust, trauma and abuse. There is that void..a deep hole within the soul... that can never ever be forgotten and never be filled ever again. This movie has so many layers deep within it... like how men react differently to traumatic childhood by being aggressive and secluded within, longing for the mother figure to comfort them, and women on the other hand become carefree, wanting to just run from it all and always longing for that father figure that can take care of her always. Imitiaz Ali has researched it so well that you can feel the pain, the inappropriate joy ...and the crazy feeling of comfort in the most strange circumstances. Brilliant piece of art with such a grey hue and painted on landscape of colors !! Alia bhatt..has talent..plenty, plenty of it, and randheep hooda is brilliant. Imitiaz Ali knows the soul and heart of a woman and recreates it well in all its brilliance... a MUST watch Film !!

Let me start by saying that this movie has everything right about it. From direction and cinematography to performances and music. The locations are breath taking.

Imtiaz Ali yet again delivers a "hat ke" love story. Its not exactly a love story but a tale of two people who want to get free and experience life. Both the characters have there own painful pasts and when they come together they let it all go and try to start it all over again.

Their journey is the theme of this movie. Alaya Bhatt and Randeep Hooda deliver power packed performances with a great supporting cast.

The movie forces us to think about the society we live in and how people struggle to lead a normal life. Be it a rich family or a poor villager. They have there own challenges.

I won't go more into the story line as that is something to be experienced.

This movie comes with a message and we are left to think what freedom and liberation means.

I will strongly recommend this one.