High on the way
At one point in Imtiaz Ali’s Highway, the kidnapped Veera(Alia Bhatt) wonders about her stress-free state of mind, when all she should feel is scared. I asked myself a similar question, “Why am I interested in watching more of Highway, when all I should feel is BORED!” Imtiaiz Ali’s Highway is one of those very few films where the drowning script is saved by the occasional spurts of genuinely funny dialogues.
Ali digresses away from his self-created genre of Imtiaz Ali romance, to show a rich brat get kidnapped by a thug and then fall in love with him. The premise gets you into a preconceived idea of what it is going to turn into, and at no point are you surprised, unlike most of Ali’s earlier films. It almost feels like Ali were interested in making a road-trip documentary and had to add some cushioning story to make it look like a film. Nonetheless, Ali’s consistent writing saves the day, and makes it a decent watch.
Imtiaz Ali’s forever obsession with the north Indian landscapes pays him off well this time, with the landscape getting equal footage as the actors. From the evergreen punjab de khet, to the tall mountains of Himachal and silent desserts of Rajasthan, the scenery is well captured, in fact with the least complicated technicalities like extra lights etc. Editing is minimal. Ali’s brave attempt to maintain large silences succeeds largely due a no-nonsense style of camera and edit.
Ali writes a simple, linear screenplay, and story as mentioned before doesn’t challenge the viewers’ curiosity. He tries hard to make Veera’s indulgence in her kidnapper look real, but hurries his characters to fall for each other. It is almost unconvincing to see a delhi high society girl to fall for her ruthless, rugged and abusive kidnapper within a week of her kidnapping. The story otherwise runs smoothly, with plenty of heartfelt moments, especially the one where Veera innocently speaks out her childhood mishaps to Mahavir(Randhip Hooda) or the one where Veera breaks into a western dance on a Hollywood number in the middle of the street. Imtiaz’s talent to keep the audience grooved in scenes like these gathers the crumbling pieces of the story to make it watchable. Music is almost another character in the film. Rahman gives another great album with Highway where songs easily become the soul of the film.
Alia Bhatt is almost rediscovered in her very second film. From being victimized, vulnerable, vivacious to wildly aggressive, she gets to do it all in one film and she impresses in most of the parts. But it is Randeep Hooda in a challenging role of a dacoit/ kidnapper with a sharp Hariyanvi tongue, who gets it picture perfect and balances well with his co-star.
Imitiaz Ali’s Highway is flawed; nonetheless it is something Bollywood doesn’t produce every day. I suggest you go catch this in the theatres for the brave effort, and you won’t be disappointed. I am going with a 3 out of 5.
