There are some habits which makes you wonder why on earth you left them. One such for me is Blogging. When my last post said Apr 2012, I realized that I have been away for too long! So, here is the first of hopefully many-s to come.
Genre: Romance/Drama
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amrita Singh. Ronit Roy, Revathy, Shiv Kumar Subramaniam
Direction: Abhishek Varman
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
After 'Hello', '3 Idiots' & 'Kai Po Che', another Chetan Bhagat novel has transcended to silver screen with a great support from the masses. This time, it is '2 States', the real life story of Chetan's marriage to his wife Anusha.
The story involves a college couple from two different cultures of India falling in love while studying together in IIM Ahmedabad. Arjun Kapoor plays Krish Malhotra, a Punjabi boy and Alia Bhatt is Ananya Swaminathan, a Tamil Brahmin Girl. Like all the college romances, it becomes the responsibility of the lover duo to make their parents accept this relationship and get them married.
Arjun says in the movie, 'The girl's parents have to like the boy, the boy's parents have to like the girl, then both girl's & boy's parents should like each other and by the end of this process if some love remains, they get married'. It was never an easy task when the boy's mom is typical Punjabi Mom (Amrita Singh) who regards all South Indian as Madrasis and a grumpy father (Ronit Roy) who had not been in good relation with his son for years. The girl's family (Revathy & Shiv Kumar Subramaniam) is equally difficult to subdue - An orthodox Tamil Brahmin family with cliched affiliation towards Carnatic Music and Degree Coffee.
With goals set and plans awry, how Krish & Ananya persuade each other's parents and convince them for the marriage marks the journey of the movie till the end credits.
The plot of the story is a giveaway as the book got released 5 years back but the way the director has adapted it to a family entertainer demands a big round of applause. Also the casting was near perfect with all the actors delivering good performances. Me being a Tamilian, I felt Alia Bhatt didn't look like a real Tamil Brahmin but she did pull off the role naturally compared to the attempts of other North Indian Heroines to act as Tamil girls.
Songs composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy complimented the story-line and the placement of the songs were spot-on. Background score was also handled well with the Chennai related scenes having a South Indian Classical touch. The pace of the movie gets slowed down as the second half switches to a melodramatic mood. Art Direction also deserves a mention for creating a good replica of a Tamil Brahmin Household and grand wedding setups.
This movie is definitely worth a watch and a good weekend entertainer.
For Chetan Bhagat fans, this would be a good experience of seeing one of their favorite novels on screen.
Rating: 3.5/5
Verdict: An honest adaptation bolstered by some good performances
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of the picture published. It is used in this review as a supporting element and never intended for any copyright infringements
