Highway takes you to unusual “High” before losing bit of a “way"!!

Though little late in the day, couldn’t resist the temptation of writing this piece after watching the movie last evening. To set the record straight, must admit, I’m not a Imtiaz Ali fan and the only movie of Imtiaz I loved was his directorial debut “Socha Na Tha”.

Imtiaz’s ambitious & unconventional journey on the Highway is a trip of self discovery for Veera, the rich girl who was kidnapped just days before her big, fat Indian wedding. Even though the trip looks scary in company of four foul mouthed, brute kidnappers, for Veera it turns out to be a liberating trip. She doesn’t know the destination, she doesn’t care about the outcome, but she enjoys the moment, the freedom, she wants to prolong it. Her trip is a metaphor. From a world of chaotic cosmopolitan cacophony, she traverses to a world of serenity and simplicity.  Her kidnapper becomes her co-passenger. Their connect is a result of the deep rooted pain that they had endeared since long, which they could share. If Mahabir had a difficult childhood, Veera had been sexually abused as a kid.  They bare their souls to each other and this provides the emotional catharsis. To his credit Imtiaz steers clear of the typical bollywood romance and projects the unconventional bonding between Veera and Mahabir as it is, without coating it with typical romantic paint. They travel through the heartland of north India and Anil Mehta’s  captures the breathtaking beauty with his amazing camera work.  His cinematography is drop dead gorgeous. Through his camera Mehta transforms the snow capped mountains, the rippling rivers, the unending highways and the exotic greenery into living and breathing characters.

Highway’s brilliance lies in the casting of two opposite characters, an effervescent Veera, who finds the freedom of expression in the company of her abductor and a reticent and rough Mahabir. While Veera is uninhibited, Mahavir speaks through his silent, forlorn stares. Though Veera’s inclination towards Mahavir hints at Stockholm syndrome, it can well be a result of her new found liberty to express herself un-inundated and live an instinctive life.

Irrespective of  whatever she does from here on, Alia Bhatt’s Veera announces her courage to take on roles sans make up and ability to flawlessly deliver them. The scene where breaks into tears even while laughing stamps her skill as an actress. She flawlessly portrays   the vulnerability of a difficult character whose emotion veers between a dark past, exciting present and an unknown future. Randeep Hooda gets into the skin of Mahavir.There are moments when it seems he was born to play this role. His brooding eyes speak more than words. Rehman’s music , though not his best , is in sync with the theme of the movie.

However it is the climax that suddenly turns preachy and lets the movie down. A movie that celebrated the essence of freedom, the exhilarated feeling of liberation for 120 minutes, suddenly tries to justify Veera’s trip away from the cocooned world. For heaven’s sake Highway was not meant to be film on child sexual abuse. Why then suddenly it turns into a movie with a social massage. Ali , who till now was showing the guts to stay away from the world of convention , abruptly turns to the familiar world to build an emotional connect with his Indian Audience. No Imtiaz, Veera’s liberated soul doesn’t require the pretext of sexual abuse to escape into the world of liberation from a life of pretension. The climax stretches a bit too much to provide a justification to Veera’s escapade, but then does freedom require any reason!

Highway takes you to unusual “High” before losing bit of a “way” in the end. However I will go out with 3.5 out of 5 for a movie that shows enough conviction to drive on a path less traveled.