2 States

Director Mr. Abhishek Varman has done apt work. He has completely justified the one of my favorite book ,2 STATES in its cinematic adaption. There are very few shots of fix block. Otherwise most of the scenes are captured with perfect movement. It gives nice feeling while watching. Director of photography Mr. Vinod Pradhan work is impressive. Complete film carries a vibrant look. Dialogues by Hussain Dalal gel completely with the character and at places tickle the funny bones in smart way. Movie is nice but due to based on the famous book, sometimes it slows down, because they had to justify the book also. I wish length of movie should have been little less. Performance wise Arjun Kapoor is very good. Alia Bhatt looks pretty and performed very well. Amrita Singh, Ronit Roy, Revathy, Shivkumar Subramaniam as Ananya's father has performed very nicely. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is OK.

2 States. Based on the book of Chetan Bhagat where he touches the details of cross cultural marriage in a humorous way, 2 States remains faithful to the idea and as a movie experience also it does not disappoint. Arjun and Alia showcase easy chemistry. Alia looks charming and does better than Arjun in emotional scenes. As their parents, Amrita Singh, Ronit Roy, Revathy and Shivkumar do quite well. I felt southern India flavor of movie was captured more effectively than northern flavor. The rough father-son relationship between Arjun and Ronit is done upright. First half breezes through while second half drags a bit although nice music and quirky dialogues helps you keep going through melodramatic scenes. Abhishek Varman as writer of adapted screenplay and director impresses in his first outing. Movie does not quite dazzle you but makes your two and half hours worth spending in the theater. I am going with good 7 out of 10 for 2 States. Last year it was Kai Po Che, this year it is 2 States, Chetan Bhagat is having quite a good time at celluloid along with books.

This movie was surprise for me I assure you it is in positive way. I am very much fond of books but don't know why I never liked Chetan Bhagat. But this story was superb and I know books are much well narrated than movie. so I will read another books of the writer.

Alia Bhatt looked beautiful. in Student of the year she was like loaded with cosmetic and over shown with fancy cloths. But in this movie her role is superb in normal cloths and in the role of a normal girl, she proved that she is going to be a challenge for all actress.

in all previous movies, Arjun Kapoor was doing Gunda type roles. but in this movie he looked cute. I knew the story and before going to movie I was thinking that he will be a mistake for this role. But he was surprisingly cute in this role.

Abhishek Verman did a great job. full movie is in continuous process. you can't be bored in a single scene. hats off for the direction.

Ronit Roy got a small role in this movie but he did full work with that. his small role was fully noticed and it is like he is in every scene in the movie.

Songs are also in hit list of bollywood. really listen-able and every mood songs are life of this movie. if you take my advice, you must listen the songs you will be more than happy.

only one thing which I want to add some kisses were unnecessary. with family you can feel some odd. but they were quite simple so you can't cut many points for that.

I give 9 out of 10. you must watch this movie.

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The book was splendid. I didn't have much expectations for none of the cast is in my favorites list. However, 20 minutes into the non-linear screenplay, I was dumbstruck at the very charming adaptation.

Starting with a tuneful version of Georges Bizet's wildly famous Carmen Habañera Suite, the titles start with Krish, played perfectly by Arjun Kapoor, speaking to a therapist. The story is told from his point of view till the end. The college life romance is amazingly captured with magnificent photography. Alia Bhatt's Ananya character is perhaps the most important in her career; she's all glimmering throughout. She is hot, lovely & faultless. Only the direction by Abhishek Varman seemed a tad amateurish.

All love happens in the first half and before the climax, you are treated with Chennai's atmosphere. Coupled with mild humor and humongous romance, it is a sure treat for hungry eyes; it has a lesson or two in courtship. Then, the second half highlights the period after love: how the families have to like each other and how the lovebirds cajole them with undivided attention. Now this phase is heavily melodramatic but you won't feel bored because Amrita Singh, Shiv Kumar Subramaniam, Revathi & Ronit Roy are so imbibed with their portrayals, you will definitely fall in love with them. The latter two just up the ante that the film just moves 2-3 notches higher.

Whoever did the costume work deserves long rounds of applause for that is the factor that pushes the wagon to the star. Art department is equally fantastic, mostly the sequences towards the climax and that of weddings/parties/festivals. Good dialogs & brilliant music & score intensifies the experience.

Although, the reality quotient drops 2-3 notches down as the characters only seem to do what would advance the movie. No references are made of their work, let only anyone's work or life other than the specific point it is trying to make. Maybe the writers failed to gather the characters together with their nuances with respect to how they are in real life. But that is not a concern here.

Running for about 150 minutes, it speaks about romance, marriage - its politics & apolitical elements, relationships & the stereotypes of inter- regional marriage. It was a pleasant experience.

BOTTOM LINE: If you are looking for a universal melodrama, coupled with mild humor & romance, 2 States is the staple movie to go for this weekend. 9/10.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? Not really, but you can give it a try. See the irony?

A super lame first half followed up with a rocking second half. One could sum this up in the following ways:

1. There are just certain literature which looks super entertaining while watching but make for very predictable and boring reading.

2. While Indians dish out romantic stories by the dozen the treatment is so shabby that you often wonder how the hell did the chemistry build up. On the other hand, you ask them to show conflicting relative and family issues and they dish out a sucker punch. Here it seemed that the director knew that the first half is just meh and the real strength lies in the second half of the movie. So quick was he to dismiss the chemistry that you could blink and miss it.

3. If there was a direct to movie concept in book writing , Chetan Bhagat should officially consider that instead of going the traditional publisher's way.

And last but not the least!

4. Seldom are movies so mainstream and yet celebrate its side actors and character artists so wonderfully. For every effervescent reaction by Alia, Amrita Singh showed why she is such a treat to watch. Ronit Roy turned up and put on all the right moves in reprising his role as the father fighting with his own demons. Revathy and Shivkumar were brilliant as Ananya's parents representing the other side of the spectrum. The struggles of coping with pushy relatives and their own demons at the altars of their sons and daughters done so tastefully and with such restraint. You could almost root for them and hope that they get more and more screen time and that, folks is a rare sight in mainstream Bollywood!