Film Review - 2 States

North by North Waste

Film: 2 States
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amrita Singh

Directed by: Abhishek Varman

Duration: 2 hrs 29 mins

Rating: * * 1 / 2

Based on the popular autobiographical account of Chetan Bhagat, 2 States could have been a charming little film but it toils and trudges long enough to make you desperate to head for the exit door. Brevity is not only the soul of wit, it should essentially be the trait of many of our Bollywood films as well. 

If only our films were restricted to a duration of 90 to 120 minutes, the quality would improve drastically. 

2 States starts off on a decent note, Krish (Arjun Kapoor) an IIM student falls in love with his classmate Ananya (Alia Bhatt). The IIM campus and the hostels (both boys and girls) are so very well lit that I dread to think about their monthly electricity bill. 

After their courtship, they discover they are in love and decide to get married. But in India, everything is easier said than done, including getting married. Not only does the boy have to approve of the girl, in this case, his Punjabi family also have to give their consent to her South Indian family (Tamilian Brahmins to be more precise).

His mother (Amrita Singh) is a loud mouthed Punjabi who calls her prospective in-laws Madrasis while his father (Ronit Roy, doing another one track character but doing it very well) is a grumpy man with several issues. Her folks (Revathy and Shiv Subramanayam) want her to get married to someone from their clan and Krish has to go out of his way to impress them.

The culture clash, politically incorrect jokes and stereotypes can be good fun, Vicky Donor did a fantastic job but this one doesn’t really nail it. The first half sails smoothly but the gags get exhausted later and towards the end, it starts becoming an ordeal. 

There are some fun situations and one liners, especially coming from Amrita Singh who is in terrific form, and how you wish the director had stuck to the same tone instead of getting all heavy duty as the film progresses. 

Most of the film is told in flashback while Krish sits on a psychologists couch and tells his story, the device doesn’t have much a relevance to the story, had it been edited out, it would have saved precious time.    

Revathy as the girl’s mother also gets to sing one of her earlier hit songs saathiya tune kiya from Love (1991) where she played the lead opposite Salman Khan. The lady is playing motherly roles these days while Salman is, well, that’s a subject for another day.

Barring that extremely well lit campus, 2 States is beautifully shot by Binod Pradhan almost like a Mani Ratnam film. The music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is also easy one the ears.

Of the cast, the supporting actors, Revathy, Shiv Subramanyam and Ronit Roy are apt. Amrita Singh plays her character to the hilt and hopefully we’ll see more of her on the big screen. Arjun Kapoor is so-so, there is nothing remarkable in his performance. After Highway Alia Bhatt excels once again and this girl has it in her to go the distance.

The film meanwhile runs out of steam before it can reach the finish line. 

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