2 States - The story next door!

After much pushing, shoving and an ultimatum, here I am writing my next movie review - 2 States. It's been awhile since I watched the same, but lets face it, Calcutta has been too hot to sit and think straight, much less write something cohesive and do justice to the same. Enough blabber and excuses, down to business...

At the onset I have to mention that this is the first movie adaption of any Chetan Bhagat novel which has kept exactly the same story line as the book. I have not dared to watch 'Hello', adapted from 'One Night at the Call Center', so please pardon me for the my lack of knowledge about the same (:-P). And with good reason too that it sticks to the book; this is the only novel which Bhagat got right as a complete package. Sure, '5 Point Someone' was hilarious, but this one actually had some readability in terms of language. So sticking to the book it did, and I believe Abhishek Varman, the director, did a good job of it.

The thing that strikes you most in this movie is the use of bright, almost happy colours through most of the movie. Whether it be Alia's dresses, the Holi celebrations or the ornate wedding decorations, colours seem to fly at you from every direction like a Sony Bravia or Samsung Smart TV ad. The colour scheme goes equally mellow in somber scenes. That perhaps was the best part of the cinematography.

The songs are another part of the movie that have been well used. The entire soundtrack is really peppy and sticks in your head. At no point do they become irritating or feel out of place. Shankar Ehsaan Loy has come up with another impressive album after 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. Its a shame they don't do more work with all the rubbish being thrown at us nowadays.

Coming to the part which impressed me the most. After watching 'Student of the Year' last year (why oh why!! sorry Soumi :-P), I had written off Alia Bhatt as just another face in the crowd. But boy! can she act. She showed her skills with 'Highway', putting in a performance to match the rugged Randeep Hooda. Here, she steals the show. It's hard to keep your eyes off her. Not that Arjun Kappor doesn't do a good job. He is Krish and plays the role of the goofy nerd smitten by Ananya well in the first part and wins your heart with the lovable Punjabi mamma's boy caught between his love and his mother in the second. But everytime Alia shows up on screen, she portrays the feisty Ananya with aplomb. The best scene of the movie is definitely the one where she convinces Arjun's screen cousin's groom to not call off the marriage, putting him in his place, before he could realise what had hit him. She delivers every emotion required of her with natural ease, much more impressively than a lot of her over-hyped contemporaries.

There are accomplished roles played by Amrita Singh and Ronit Roy as Arjun's parents. The tension is palpable as the flashback scene is shown explaining Krish's current situation with his father. There is also a very good performance put in by Revati, as Alia's mother. The scene where she sings in Krish's office function brings a smile to your face.

All in all, the film is well made and the best part is that it sticks to the plot of the book. I would give 3.5 for the movie and an extra half points just for Alia.

Verdict : 4 out of 5. Well worth a watch, if you've not seen it already. Worth a second watch too with friends and/or loved ones as it never bores you.

Till next time. Cheers :-)