Highway
Year: 2014
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Cast: Alia Bhatt, Randeeep Hooda

Imtiaz Ali is one of the most talented young film-makers in the country. With successful and well-acclaimed films such as Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal and Rockstar in his kitty, he has proved that any new venture of his is obviously worth looking forward to. Casting an odd pairing of Aliya Bhatt and Randeep Hooda, he also managed to arouse curiosity. So how does the film finally pan out on the big screen?

What’s the plot?

A rich, young girl (Alia Bhatt), right in the middle of her wedding preparations, decides to sneak out of her house with her fiance. All she wants is a breath of fresh air on a short night-drive. But her minor escapade turns into a major disaster when a gangster (Randeep Hooda) kidnaps her for ransom! When it comes to light that the girl is a daughter of a well-connected industrialist, the main gang leader panics and washes his hands off the whole operation. Abandoned by his gang and hounded by the police, the gangster decides to run off, taking the girl in tow. As the captor and the captive move on from one place to another, travelling in a truck on a highway, a strange bond develops between the two. They start to realize that despite coming from drastically different sociocultural backgrounds, they have some things in common- a scarred childhood and a healthy disrespect for the system! Where will this apparently unending journey take them? Will they be able to make a clean escape from the world they have come to hate for its duplicity?

What’s hot?

·        Like all his previous films, Imtiaz Ali shows off his skills to capture some stunning, scenic locales on celluloid. It is a road film and it takes you on an eye-pleasing multi-state highway trip in North India.

·        Alia Bhatt is a revelation. Coming off a plastic doll portrayal in her debut vehicle Student Of The Year, she takes a quantum leap here.  An innocent, impulsive and vulnerable young girl, apparently with everything at her disposal but with a dark secret in her heart; her fears after being kidnapped; her initial desperation to escape; her newfound freedom in her captivity and her changing equation with her captor…. Alia sensitively portrays the different shades of the character. At high emotional pitches, she falters a bit but still it is a superb performance.

·        Randeep Hooda delivers a fine, restrained performance as a hard-core criminal, who is haunted by the demons from his past; who hates the rich from his gut but who finds the girl in his captivity to be someone totally different from his expectations.

·        The ever-changing chemistry of the protagonists (Stockholm syndrome!) is interesting.

·        Rahman’s music complements the situations well.

What’s not?

·        This is certainly not a film for the masses. Not an entertainer by any stretch of imagination. An introvert film more suitable for niche audiences.

·        Like most highway journeys, the film has a stuttering stop-and-go feel. Many times it just wanders aimlessly.

·        There are not many hooks in the story-line to keep you riveted. There are no surprises or shocks to leave you stunned. As a result, the overall impact is underwhelming.

Verdict

Highway is a well-made, beautiful-looking film with solid performances. But its appeal is limited to a select audience thanks to its slow-pace and off-beat theme.

Rating

3 out of 5