2 States ...a Rom Com done right!

The real people
Directed and screenplay Adapted by Abhishek Varman
Produced by Karan Johatr & Sajid Nadiadwala
Based on novel by Chetan Bhagat
Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Arjun Kapoor as Krish Malhotra
Alia Bhatt as Ananya Swaminathan
Ronit Roy and Amrita Singh as Krish's Father & Mother
Shiv Kumar and Revathy as Ananya's Father & Mother

At a glance

Mr Sanjay Leela Bhansali...apparently you wanted to capture amazing chemistry in Ram Leela between the leads. Piece of advice....please watch 2 States. This is how chemistry is captured on screen. A complete movie with romance, drama, humor and awesome performances. 

At 2 hours 30 minutes, there is some amount of trimming that could have been done post interval, but nevertheless, Arjun and especially Alia, keep you engaged and entertained along with the amazing supporting roles of the parents. 

The people on screen

6 superbly cast actors give superb and honest performances. 

Shiv Kumar and Revathy play the "Tamilian" parents of Ananya Swaminathan. They depict the stereotypical south indian attitude along with the typical concerned parents behavior with perfection. Shiv Kumar especially plays a cute and stern role simultaneously. Revathy too does a great job, and when she sings "Saathiya Tune Kya Kiya", its only then when you realize how long her journey has been as an actress! 

Ronit Roy & Amrita Singh play the "Punjabi" parents of Krish Malhotra. Once again, the typical punjabi family, where the father is a retired military officer and the mother is materialistic, yet loving mom. Now....I have to say...that Ronit and Amrita give a performance beyond awesome! Ronit Roy with zero smile and zero laughter seems like the father straight out of the movie Udaan, yet his expressions and screen presence is phenomenal. Amrita is brilliant....you admire the loving mother in her and you hate the materialistic punjaban! She is plain brilliant!

Arjun Kapoor as Krish. One of his best performances so far. Although I must add that his character and his acting both seem to be inspired completely by Sushant Singh from Shudd Desi. Watch out for his superb scene when he confronts his dad the first time....the fear, anger and uncertainty he faces in that situation...and the way he conveys it...Kudos! 

Lastly, Alia Bhatt as Ananya. What can I say....I have become her fan! With Highway it was her acting that bowled me over...and with 2 States its her acting and her cuteness! She has definitely established herself above all the other actresses currently in bollywood with just two movies this year!! She is pure talent...and I bet she has as bright a future ahead of her as her bright and colourful sarees and kurtis in the movie! She steals the show despite all the amazing performances that I mentioned above! 

The tunes

Shankar Ehsaan Loy...compose a melodious and peppy soundtrack for the movie. Mast Magan needs a special mention for its sweet romantic feel and magic! Despite their commendable efforts, I for one, for some reason felt that this was a movie that shouldve belonged to Amit Trivedi. The soundtrack is definitely good...but not as satisfying as I would have liked it to be. The background music however is perfect! I think right from the Dil Chaahta Hai days, the trio have proved that they sure as hell know how to compose great background music! 

Been-O-pinion

I rate the movie 4 out of 5. 

Feb gave us Highway, March gave us Queen and April has gifted us audience with 2 States! Chetan Bhagat's interesting life story combined with Abhishek Verman's superb screenplay and direction combined further with the great performances make this movie a wonderful and engaging watch. A slight trimming in the second half and a bit more innovative writing is some parts would have made this movie the best...nevertheless...get your tickets and get going... you shouldnt miss this movie...cause this is one more step from bollywood in the right direction...towards making great cinema! 

Gunday Review: All fun no regrets!

The Real People:
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar (also directed Mere Brother Ki Dulhan)
Produced by Aditya Chopra
Music by Sohail Sen (also composed for Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Ek Tha Tiger)
Background Score by Julius Packiam (also gave the score for Dhoom 3, Badmash Company, Kabul Express)
Ranvir Singh & Darshan Gunjar as Bikram & young Bikram
Arjun Kapoor & Jayesh Kardak as Bala & young Bala
Irrfan Khan as ACP Satyajeet Sarkar and also the Narrator
Priyanka Chopra as Nandita

At a Glance:
Paisa Vasool! Thats what you call a movie like this one! Oversimplified, full of flaws, and yet loads of fun! The movie is a typical bollywood style entertainer and so much so, that like most movies of this type, it has a pathetic climax too! I would not say it is a must watch...but I can tell you that if you do watch it, you will like it!

The People of Screen:
Bikram & Bala jr. 
The two kiddos play their part with extreme confidence and although very brief, they establish the characters very well right at the onset of the movie! The minute they both walk out after their first coal adventure, you know that you should expect a lot typical bollywood punch lines and slow motion walkings scenes and "yaari-dosti" cliches in this movie!


Bikram & Bala
Ranvir and Arjun are the terrific duo and they seem to be having a lot of fun doing this 80s style masala drama. They both are extremely likeable and even though their affection for each other reaches the dangerous heights of being qualified as "Dostana"they portray the old school filmy dosti very nicely! They both get powerful punches to deliver, literally and figuratively (rather verbally). The best part about their performance in my opinion is that even though they play the roles of the notorious "Gunday" very nicely, yet they perfectly depict the characters' innocence and the purity of hearts at the same time!


ACP Satyajeet Sarkar
As usual, you cant help but luv the way this guy acts! Irrfan...from the middle aged government officer in The Lunchbox to this cunning ACP who not only orchestrates all the twists and plot surprises but also narrates the story with some great dialogues in Gunday! My favorite pick of the lot..... "Jis tarah har aag ke saath paani hota hai, iss kahani ka Sailaab....Mai Hoon!"


Nandita

No surprises here, Priyanka plays the role of the troublemaking, love inducing, morality changing, woman! She looks great, is always decked up wearing the best of sarees and why she plays the role of a Cabaret dancer? Beats me completely! I meant she could have done "Asalam-u-Ishqum" anyway! Her acting however is strictly average and could have been done by anyone, even Katrina! ;)

The tunes:
Sohail Sen churns out, once again, some  good music! Jashn-e-Ishqa is the most crucial track here as it is almost the theme of the entire movies background score. Mankunto Maula is a great track as well with both, the classical and the contemporary tracks being used effectively in the movie. Jiya is a very "Saiyyara tu Saiyyara" type of composition, but nevertheless as impressive and with Arijit at th vocals, it sounds magical. Tune Maari Entriyaan but of course is a total chart buster.
The background score is loud, filmy and yet very apt and catchy! Good job Julius!

Been-O-pinion:
I rate the movie 3.5 out of 5.
The movie is completely flawed, has no feeling of it being set in the 1980s (except from Bala's and Bikram's weird sense of dressing), uses every cliche in the books of bollywood of friend-turning-foe-and-back-again-to-friend, and yet....the movie is paced in a way that you get no time to think, you get engrossed in the twists and punchlines only to realize 130 minutes later (about when the 20 minute climax starts) that "damn! This is such an old school thriller-drama and I am having a good time!". The climax should have been edited out completely however! Watch it if you have nothing else to do, watch it if you want to have a good time at the movies. You will not regret it!