by Ruby Gege
DIRECTED BY: ABHISHEK VARMAN| WRITTEN BY: CHETAN BHAGAT| WRITTEN BY: ABHISHEK VARMAN & HUSSAIN DALAL| STARRING: ARJUN KAPOOR AND ALIA BHATT
RATING: 9/10 (because this is truly an excellent film!)
One question – is love really enough when it comes to marriage and spending the rest of your life with the man or woman of your choice? Is it wise to disregard other people’s opinions? It is safe to live by the rule that love conquers all?
Or are you the type to actually consider every factors before making the decision? What kind of a married do you want? The one where you are able to include your parents and your in-laws or not?
2 States is a film that deals with this dilemma of such decisions. We are introduced to our main characters, our hero, Krish and heroine, Ananya, at the beginning of the film as two young bright students in a prestigious postgraduate academy in Gujarat. Both of them hailed from completely different parts of India – Krish is a soft-spoken polite Punjabi Delhi boy whereas Ananya is a gorgeous steady Tamilian girl from Chennai. They became friends and eventually, lovers. The chemistry between Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt worked so well here – they matched each other so perfectly. Krish was a young man without a meaningful aim in life, then came Ananya, who often encouraged him to pursue his true passion, writing.
As the love grows, so does the desire to take the relationship to the next level – marriage – and this is when the movie really starts. 2 States is different due to the fact that it portrays rational-minded young lovers who do not make hasty decisions out of love. Instead, they take their steps slowly and try to make things work and at the same time pleases the people around them. What is so great about Krish and Ananya is that they both are filial dutiful children. How can they not be – their parents raised them well to be the person they were to be. Thus, it is only natural the lovers wanted their parents to bless the marriage as well.
Our Ananya is very adamant about wanting her parents to accept Krish. She could never imagine making them sad. The same goes for Krish, whose mother had sacrificed everything in order to raise him though she had been trapped in an abusive unhappy marriage.
The altercation between Krish’s mother, a typical loud-mouthed Punjabi woman and Ananya’s conservative reserved Tamilian parents are the funniest parts of the film. Literally, I cried my eyes out of funniness in the cinema. The differences in culture is great. Ananya’s parents are more rigid and traditional because they came from a pure Brahmin family, the highest of the caste system. They are vegetarians, which contradicts the Punjabi culture of loving food, including the non-vegetarian ones. The Punjabi culture in courtship and marriage also appeared to be more financially consuming based on how Krish’s mother would indirectly demand gifts from Ananya and her family, defending her opinion by saying that that is the way how in-laws should be treated.
However, the most important factor why Krish’s mother and Ananya’s parents could not get along was because of their clashing personalities. Krish’s mother is the gossip-y type of woman who can be inappropriately offensive at times whereas Ananya’s parents are quiet. Full stop. They don’t start a conversation unless necessary. Thus, always, when the three parents shared the same scene, they were either awkwardly silent or arguing with each other.
All these problems were the obstacles for our pair of lovers’ tireless effort to be with each other and at the same time, pursue their parents’ blessing. Misunderstandings happen and more than often, between love and family, our hero and heroine would choose family. However, that led to severe unhappiness to the both of them and thankfully, the parents realized this as well.
This film has a happy ending. No worries. And I swear to God I felt so happy after watching it. I smiled like a crazy person because I enjoyed it so much. The last time a romantic film touched me to such depth was a few years ago when I watched Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.
THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FILMS…
1 – Arjun Kapoor as Krish Malholtra
I love the fact that I have found a new Indian actor to love and have been able to follow his career from the beginning. Arjun in Ishaqzaade, his debut work, did not really impress me much. Most probably because I was too overwhelmed by Parineeti’s awesomeness. But then, his second movie, Aurangzeb, completely changed my perception towards him. I realized that he is a good actor and is able to play both rough characters and a low-key moderate type of man as well. In Gunday, where he acted with Ranveer Singh, I do believe he was the better performer. He had great control over his emotions, showing us his humane side whilst playing a gangster.
In 2 States, he played a normal middle-class man and he played it to perfection. I kept asking myself – “Arjun Baba, why are you so amazing?!!!” as I watched him on screen. He seems like a completely new person, transforming himself for his characters. I am definitely, most validly an Arjun Kapoor fan now.
2 – The Pace of the Love Story
I have to confess, I ABSOLUTELY DETEST AND HATE love story that occurred within the span of less than a week or two. Indian films have lots of this films where the hero meets the heroines and within three days, they are in love and a week later, they are willing to die for each other. May I repeat this for the gazillionth time – IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY FUCKING SENSE!!!!!! My goddess Parineeti’s latest film, Hasee Toh Pasee is, unfortunately, in that category as well but her exceptional performance as a mad scientist held the film together for me.
I love how natural and realistic is the relationship between Krish and Ananya to me. They first became friends, then close friends, then casual lovers, then serious committed lovers to an engaged couple, and finally, husband and wife over the course of a few years. It did not happen instantly and they had lots of ups and downs, partly because of their parents’ clashing opinion. The most touching scene to me is at the end, during their wedding ceremony in this super beautiful ancient Hindu temple. Our heroine, Ananya, held down her tears as Krish was tying the thali (a necklace of marriage) to her. She cried because they had to overcome so many obstacles to be together and at the same time, managed to unite their parents as well.
3 – Filial Piety Based on Love, Not Fear
I think in Asia, there is a misconception that children are bound by their parents’ opinion because of fear. That is wrong or an over-generalization. Most children care for their parents’ opinion and seek their blessings due to the deep love and respect. Ananya was steadfast in her stand that they should not elope and seek their parents’ blessing because she loved them. The same goes to Krish. They knew that their parents had sacrificed everything to make them happy. To elope and disregard their roles as children would simply be wrong and selfish. Amidst the intense love they have for each other, they remained reasonable and careful in their choices.
4 – The Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Listen to the soundtrack and you’ll get why. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is my favourite composer team ever. All of their works have never been less than perfect and AMAZING!!! My favourite tracks? Everything!!
In conclusion, 2 States is a highly watchable love story that is able to make you laugh, cry and feel for the characters at the same time. The plot touches you. The issues raised in this film is relatable. Aren’t we all trying to make our parents happy and at the same time, pursue what we desire most? I am so happy that 2014 has been so kind to me by producing such great Hindi films. Let’s hope for many more to come!!!!!!
Three Chinguz - Reviews & Rantings 