Why Highway will probably never make 100 crores and why that actually will be a great thing!
Let's get the fact straight : 'Highway' will probably never make 100 crores - a standard that has increasingly come to signify the pre-eminence of quantity over quality in the Hindi film industry.
A quote from a Firstpost article states this fact subtly and so aptly - "Imtiaz Ali's best work till date might also be his least successful film."
'Highway' lends ample credence to Anurag Kashyap's opinion about Imtiaz Ali. When asked on a popular chat show on telly, to pick a quality he feels Ali has which he doesn't - he (Kashyap) replied, "His Sufi romanticism." I could not agree more. There is an other-worldly quality about this film, as it becomes an ethereal painting, a moving poetry in silence, a riveting testament to human emotions and turmoil.
'Highway' has a visceral quality to it. It is gripping, not in the way of an 'edge-of-the-seat' thriller, but it takes control over your heart, it overwhelms and overpowers you. Long after the movie ended, I was still in a sort of induced trance. Those were places I had never been to, those were people I had never encountered the like of, and circumstances I have never been part of ; yet despite all this, I was irresistibly drawn to this strong and silent whirlpool of emotions that Imtiaz Ali had masterfully created.
Another detail about the movie which I realized when reading the above-mentioned review ( Firstpost Review of Highway ) was about the music, rather the extremely subtle and understated use of it.
It takes a film-maker of Ali's calibre and vision to have A.R.Rahman compose the music and background score and yet use it so economically, without succumbing to the temptation of lavish picturizations of chartbusters. And more so when in 'Highway', Rahman sounds like the Rahman of yore, he of 'Bombay' and 'Dil Se', who cast a magic spell. Not to forget the contribution of lyricist Irshad Kamil who creates the poignant verses to Rahman's melody.
Yet in Highway, the true music comes from Nature, from unspoken thoughts, from raw emotions.
Alia Bhat and Randeep Hooda have given the performances of a lifetime. Trust Imtiaz Ali's foresight to find his Veera in the 'Student of the Year' starlet.What a glorious transformation; and what a bravura performance from the young lady.
Randeep Hooda has been a fringe player for too long, and I hope this film will finally awaken the big banners to his smouldering talent, and they will come up with roles to suit his craft.
But then all these qualities about a film doesn't guarantee an entry to the '100 crores' club, which in recent times, has become the most obnoxious term in film business parlance. This proverbial club features many 'cinematic marvels' which should not have even been released in the first place, considering that they are such gross eyesores, and terrible insults to the cinema-loving audience's sensitivities and intellect.
It's not that I dislike the idea of 'Highway' being a commercial success, but I don't want the 'know-it-all' trade pundits to brand it as a success only when it makes some obscene amount of money.
The attitude of most of the critics have been sorely disappointing till now. So it turns out, they will incessantly carp about the lack of quality in Hindi cinema and when actually something this beautiful and moving comes along, they will not flinch twice to shoot it down.
Travel has been a common theme in Imtiaz Ali's films. And the same reflects in the name and logo of his production company - 'Window Seat Films'. It instantly touches a cord, the magic of a window seat in a long journey. The logo itself is a short montage, a cartoon of a young boy seated next to the window in a train compartment, and gazing out, while the scenery changes constantly.
And that is the omnipresent motif in Ali's work - travel. It transcends from being just a physical journey to an emotional escapade, a healing process.
It was such a beautiful journey which had brought about the serendipitous meeting of Geet and Aditya, a few summers back, and now nurtures the unlikeliest of bonds between two fractured, tormented souls - Veera and Mahabir.
Thank you Imtiaz Ali for this journey in self exploration!
IMDb link: Highway (2014)
A quote from a Firstpost article states this fact subtly and so aptly - "Imtiaz Ali's best work till date might also be his least successful film."
'Highway' lends ample credence to Anurag Kashyap's opinion about Imtiaz Ali. When asked on a popular chat show on telly, to pick a quality he feels Ali has which he doesn't - he (Kashyap) replied, "His Sufi romanticism." I could not agree more. There is an other-worldly quality about this film, as it becomes an ethereal painting, a moving poetry in silence, a riveting testament to human emotions and turmoil.
'Highway' has a visceral quality to it. It is gripping, not in the way of an 'edge-of-the-seat' thriller, but it takes control over your heart, it overwhelms and overpowers you. Long after the movie ended, I was still in a sort of induced trance. Those were places I had never been to, those were people I had never encountered the like of, and circumstances I have never been part of ; yet despite all this, I was irresistibly drawn to this strong and silent whirlpool of emotions that Imtiaz Ali had masterfully created.
Another detail about the movie which I realized when reading the above-mentioned review ( Firstpost Review of Highway ) was about the music, rather the extremely subtle and understated use of it.
It takes a film-maker of Ali's calibre and vision to have A.R.Rahman compose the music and background score and yet use it so economically, without succumbing to the temptation of lavish picturizations of chartbusters. And more so when in 'Highway', Rahman sounds like the Rahman of yore, he of 'Bombay' and 'Dil Se', who cast a magic spell. Not to forget the contribution of lyricist Irshad Kamil who creates the poignant verses to Rahman's melody.
Yet in Highway, the true music comes from Nature, from unspoken thoughts, from raw emotions.
Alia Bhat and Randeep Hooda have given the performances of a lifetime. Trust Imtiaz Ali's foresight to find his Veera in the 'Student of the Year' starlet.What a glorious transformation; and what a bravura performance from the young lady.
Randeep Hooda has been a fringe player for too long, and I hope this film will finally awaken the big banners to his smouldering talent, and they will come up with roles to suit his craft.
But then all these qualities about a film doesn't guarantee an entry to the '100 crores' club, which in recent times, has become the most obnoxious term in film business parlance. This proverbial club features many 'cinematic marvels' which should not have even been released in the first place, considering that they are such gross eyesores, and terrible insults to the cinema-loving audience's sensitivities and intellect.
It's not that I dislike the idea of 'Highway' being a commercial success, but I don't want the 'know-it-all' trade pundits to brand it as a success only when it makes some obscene amount of money.
The attitude of most of the critics have been sorely disappointing till now. So it turns out, they will incessantly carp about the lack of quality in Hindi cinema and when actually something this beautiful and moving comes along, they will not flinch twice to shoot it down.
Travel has been a common theme in Imtiaz Ali's films. And the same reflects in the name and logo of his production company - 'Window Seat Films'. It instantly touches a cord, the magic of a window seat in a long journey. The logo itself is a short montage, a cartoon of a young boy seated next to the window in a train compartment, and gazing out, while the scenery changes constantly.
And that is the omnipresent motif in Ali's work - travel. It transcends from being just a physical journey to an emotional escapade, a healing process.
It was such a beautiful journey which had brought about the serendipitous meeting of Geet and Aditya, a few summers back, and now nurtures the unlikeliest of bonds between two fractured, tormented souls - Veera and Mahabir.
Thank you Imtiaz Ali for this journey in self exploration!
IMDb link: Highway (2014)
Comments
Post a Comment