Highway

Before I start waxing eloquent, and deservedly so, about Highway, I would like to take this opportunity to call out 3 names that don’t feature on most sites as part of the cast of Highway.  Durgesh Kumar who plays Aadoo, Pradeep Nagar who plays Tonk and Saharsh Kumar Shukla who plays Gaurav aka Goru.

These 3 support actors will probably be not called out by anyone in a movie that was dominated by 2 performances that will be spoken about for a long long time.  But those performances would have been flat if Durgesh, Pradeep and Saharsh had not provided the salt to taste (literally speaking – watch movie to find out why).

In a week that had 2 mainstream Hollywood directors falling short, Imtiaz Ali rises like a proverbial Phoenix from the Ashes.  I didn’t like Jab We Met as much as the world did.  I loved Love Aaj Kal and I thought Rockstar was a commendable performance – probably one of the few to think so.  With Highway, Imtiaz has found a new benchmark.

A benchmark that he may actually find difficult to emulate in the years to come.  That is the extent of effort and commitment that shows in each and every frame of Highway.  The titling is along various Highways (obviously) cutting to a wedding house shot on a handycam – different and very well done.

Having established the affluence of the family of Veera (Alia Bhatt) and her fiancé Varun, Imtiaz takes about 3 minutes to establish Veera’s desperate desire to break free from the shackles of her family.  A minute later, the story actually begins at a petrol pump where Veera gets inadvertently caught in a shoot-out and therefore kidnapped.

Highway is the story of how Veera moves from a feeling of horror and fear to one that even surprises herself – joy of a new found freedom.  She says, “Mujhe toh tense hona chahiye na? Mein Tense toh hoon. Lekin…” (I should be tensed. I am tense. But…). Just one of the many brilliant dialogues in a heart wrenching film about Stockholm Syndrome.

I am not going to speak more about the story because I want to minimize the spoilers.  I have given enough for you to figure out the plot at a very high level.  But you have to make an effort to walk into the theatre watch the rest.  You must catch Highway by any means possible at any time.

Because if you do not, you will miss out on not only one of the finest pieces of direction in Indian cinema to date but also 2 of the finest performances in a long time.  Last February, it was Karan Johar’s chance to come out of the closet with his segment in Bombay Talkies.  This time it is Alia Bhat who is mind blowing.

Alia Bhat’s commitment to the role is probably most personified by a scene early on in the movie when she speaks about her child abuse and her nose quivers all throughout.  I do not know if it is a reflex action or if she can control her nose (highly unlikely).  To me, it shows the extent of involvement in the character.

Randeep Hooda has very little dialogue but speaks volumes with his body language.  The effort to pick a Haryanvi accent is commendable.  He has always been an under rated actor in my books and I am glad to see him finally executing a role with such aplomb.

I am proud to give Highway 8.5 on 10.  It is my first 8.5 for a Bollywood movie.  Usually Bollywood previews happen on Thursday nights.  The Wednesday afternoon preview should have been an indication about the confidence from a team which has put its heart and soul into the movie. It could also be that I am blown away as of now.

To the audiences I say, Highway may not make money at the Box Office like the crappy movies that we have been acclimatized to.  But do take this opportunity to learn a little more about how a movie should actually be made.  I will be watching Highway many a time in the days to come.  I think you should watch it at least once.

Watch the trailer on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o66nNnGZ5Rg