Tuesday 25 February 2014

'Highway' is a nearly perfect film.

Aradhna and I saw this film over the weekend -- it's now Wednesday afternoon, and it remains as vivid in my mind as a hard slap. A story about an unlikely road trip, the rejection of bourgeois values, nature's healing powers, the reclaiming of one's own humanity ... hard stuff, delivered exquisitely. Shot across the whole of north India and Kashmir, I dare you to find a film that puts superb locations and raging nature to better use.

The leads of Highway -- Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda -- give tremendous performances. The director, Imtiaz Ali, drew acclaim in 2007 for a film called Jab We Met and Highway's story is similar, but much deeper, and demands more from its audience. Which means it stands zero chance of finding a large audience in India. It's a film made for film lovers and is certainly not those after mindless Bollywood crap.

Highway isn't easy to find but must be seen on a wide screen to be appreciated. Never have the redemptive powers of the open road been laid bare with such power and patience.

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