"2 States": A Magical North-South Love Story You Wish Wouldn't End

By siliconindia | Friday, 18 April 2014, 11:48 Hrs

Minor slip-ups.

Most of the time cultural differences are articulately pinned down in the film. Debutant director Abhishek Varman knows how to tell a story embedding individual scenes with a distinctive personality without straining for effect. The narrative traverses a number of cities - Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai - searching out enchanting pockets of storytelling for the couple to grow into.

This is a film that never forgets to surprise even when going about the task of telling a story that can only end one way. Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt ensure that their mutual participation in the rites of courtship, copulation, conflict and reconciliation yields a harvest of hefty scenes. Their performances display a natural flair for understatement underlined by a deep understanding of the language of commercial cinema. And yes, they look so made for each other, their compatibility is almost karmic.

Two world, two cultures, two families, one love story...."2 States" re-defines and rejuvenates the love-marriage space.Simple and yet striking, gorgeous and graceful, this is a film where we come away hankering to know what happens to the couple after the film is over.

The film is put together with the stress on lightness of tone. From the clothes that Ananya and Krish wear to the spaces they inhabit... you won't find them fuelling a filmy flamboyance into the narrative. Binod Pradhan's cinematography is the opposite of epic. And that's the truth which these urban characters represent.

And yes, Alia dressed as a bride looks like a doll. In a way the honesty that her face never ceases to express symbolizes what this film strives to do. "2 States" creates a world where characters don't shout to be heard. They just belong to a world where being proper, politically or otherwise, is not always a pre-condition.

Source: IANS