Movie Review Of 2 States By Bharathi Pradhan

Exclusive: B-town`s A list Newbies love to get r@unchy

Well after seeing some of the budding newbies of Bollywood go bold and raunchy, soon after marking their arrival in Bollywood it looks like there is some sort of cold war going on between these budding damsels, where they are trying hard to outmaneuver each other in this league of being raunchy on the big screen. Now after newbies like Parineeti, Elli Aditi Rao and many others, it's cute and adorable Alia who has dropped all her inhibitions and has gone bold for her upcoming cine flick "2 States" which is based on the bestselling novel of ace novelist Chetan Bhagat.

Although the story-line of "2 States" primarily pertains to North-South devoid prevailing among the north Indian and their southern counterpart and its impact on the relationship of two cupid bitten lovers. But if reports about "2 States" are to be believed then for one of the sequences of the film Arjun and Alia have literally kicked aside all their inhibitions, while being raunchy on the big screen.

Well this is not for the first time that any of the next-gen hotties of Bollywood after taking a decorous start has stepped into a somewhat prurient arena. Even in the past hotties like Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Elli Avram and many others in order to catalyze the pace of their careers turned towards the bold acts.

So come check out with us a few such babes who embraced the raunchy stances in the past after taking a somewhat decorous start in Bollywood. 

Of Quirks and Beliefs: Bollywood and its idiosyncracies

We dig out some funny, bizarre and unbelievable ideas that stars hold close to their hearts....

Most of us hold on to some superstition and Bollywood is no exception. If anything, stardom comes with its own fears and insecurities, leaving celebs at the mercy of lucky charms and superstitious beliefs.

Tinseltown residents visiting temples and dargahs to seek blessings of the divine for their films' success are a common phenomenon now, as is changing the spelling of one's name. hitlist shares some interesting quirks and superstitions practised by famous stars..

Amitabh Bachchan

Quirk/superstition: Big B wears two watches on the same wrist and carries three cell phones. What's more, he doesn't watch cricket matches live. The star believes that doing so leads to the team's loss.

Alia Bhatt & Arjun Kapoor Fillm "2 States" Trailer Launch

Alia: I feel something vital is missing in my life

The Ravishing Raves For Her Performance In Highway Have Not Gone To Alia Bhatt's Head.She Tells Subhash K Jha Why.

The praise for Highway is unprecedented.Someone like Javed Akhtar has compared your performance to Nargis in Mother India, Meena Kumari in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Nutan in Bandini and Shabana Azmi in Arth.
It hasn't sunk in,really. But I am overwhelmed. I worked really hard on Highway. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope to make an impact. But this is beyond anything I hoped. Highway is not an ordinary experience for me.

In your second film you've evolved more than other actors do after 10-15 films.
That's good to hear. But I've a long way to go. And Imtiaz worked out the character for me down to all the details.

Which is closer to the real Alia , the shallow clothes horse in Student Of The Year or the sensitive pained girl in Highway?
I am closer to my second character. But I don't think it's shallow to care about clothes and makeup.Every girl likes to dress up. I didn't really begin to care about my looks until I started acting. Now I enjoy dressing up. But I am not constantly fashionable. There are days when I am in pyjamas at home.

Not looking good is not an option for you?
You think so ?(laughs). In that case I'll have to be more careful about my appearance.

Have you read the reviews of Highway and what they have to say about you?
Not reviews. But the comments on Twitter and the messages that I get are quite something. I am open to both praise and criticism. I've just started out. I can't be expected to do everything right.

Yes, this is your second film. Where did you discover this volcano of feelings within yourself?
I didn't know that they existed in me. Credit must go to my director Imtiaz Ali for helping me find this reserve of emotions within me.Actually even in school I was a bit of a brooder and dreamer. I had lots of friends. But I liked spending time alone. And I've always felt that emptiness which my character feels. Like my character Veera I feel something vital is missing in my life. There was always that hankering within me. While shooting in these far-off areas communication with the outside world was almost nil. So I had time to connect with new emotions within me that I projected into my character.



There is a sequence towards the end where you sit by the river in Kashmir laughing and crying at the same time.How on earth did you do that?
It is one of my favourite moments in the film. There is a very interesting story to that sequence.As you know we did a lot of improvisations on location.When we were in Kashmir we had some extra time . Imtiaz told me to just gaze into the river and experience the emotions. There was no planned emotions there. I just went by whatever I felt. I think I reacted the way I did because by then I was within a very vulnerable state of mind because of the emotional journey of my character.

A lot of the acting was in response to the landscape that was presented to you?
I think it was that way for all of us. It wasn't as if we didn't know what we were doing and just kept improvising. We knew exactly where we were going in the narration. But we took unexpected turns and stopovers that surprised us all.

How will you live up to the expectations that you have raised with Highway?
See, for me every character would be an opportunity to explore new emotions. So I'll try to live up to expectations each time. To be honest I don't know how good I am in Highway. So I don't know how good I'll be in my next film 2 States. All I can do is follow my directors vision every time and try to be true to the characters I play.I may not give a hundred percent to every moment of the characters I play. But yes, 40 percent of myself will be there always for sure.

And what if you fail?
There would be times when I fumble and fall. I am okay with that.

How do you rate yourself in 2 States?
I haven't seen the film. But I love my character in 2 States. She is very different from the girls that I've played in my first two films. She is strong and mature. Which I am at times. At other times, I am not.But the emotions in 2 States were all new to me. I may be speaking too soon. But the director Abhishek Varman is absolutely fantastic.

Will you live up audiences' expectations in 2 States?
Expectations will always be there. But I can't be thinking about that all the time.Only when the film is out then all the anxieties will sink in. But I still feel I am too new to raise too many expectations. I am okay with failing.

That's Mahesh Bhatt's daughter speaking?
My father was the most excited after seeing Highway. He told me he couldn't sleep after seeing my performance. To me that's very personal triumph. My father's approval means a lot to me. Actually my entire family's approval means a lot to me. But my father's approval means a little more since he is a fantastic filmmaker and can separate Alia the daughter from Alia the actress.

Do you feel a change within you since your first film?
I think I will always be the Alia who did her first shot for Student Of The Year.I have to believe I have a lot to achieve.That's the only way I can grow. I want to do all the best roles I can get. Become the top-most actress maybe. Buy myself a house...But the person within me must remain the same. I don't want people to say I've changed with success.


Maybe you bring out the fantastic side of all your directors?
Nooooo ,that's giving me too much credit. The novel 2 States was so good. We could easily go wrong in the screen adaptation. I hope people don't feel so. Because we've worked genuinely hard to keep the spirit of the novel intact in the film.

Which was harder in 2 States, playing a South Indian or playing a wife?
Speaking Tamil was really hard for me. Fortunately I didn't have to play the Tamil girl in a loud caricatural way. She is a city girl.She can be from any part of the world. The Tamil side of her comes out when she's speaking to her parents. I didn't have to learn too much Tamil .

Movie Review: `Gunday` is an old ale in a new bottle, but with a difference

There is no denying the fact that whenever our cine scholars get after any cine making formula, then they start scouring it at such a vast extent, that it becomes an in vogue epidemic of a sort. And the ongoing epoch seems to be the era of ascension of `period films` in Bollywood. Now the newest to make its entry under the flag of `period film` is Priyanka, Ranveer, Arjun and Irrfan starrer `so called period flick" `Gunday`. And I called it a "so called period flick" because after watching the film I am still in a state of quandary, with a thought that whether it was actually a period film in any manner or was it just a routine "masala entertainer" encased in the robe of period film.

Whatever, due to a strategically relevant date of release, this YRF cine venture featuring Priyanka, Ranveer, Arjun and Irrfan at its release succeeded in securing a jam packed opening and opened with a cent percent occupancy.

Penned by Ali Abbas Zafar, premise of `Gunday` takes off from the era of 70s, when Indo-Pak war paved way for the formation of Bangladesh. As the plot further unfurls begins the story of two lil orphans Bikram (Ranveer Singh) and Bala (Arjun Kapoor), who after smouldering in the heat of partition, end being on the Indian side of the border. And while fighting this `war of survival` these two hot tempered young lads land in Calcutta of 70s and turn into petty coal thieves.

With the time rolling ahead at its pace, Bikram and Bala no longer remain the petty coal bandits, but rather turn into the most powerful, daring, yet loved by the masses coal mafias of Calcutta. As the frames roll ahead, with the advent of pretty Nandita (Priyanka Chopra) a cabaret dancer and ACP Satyajeet Sarkar (Irrfan Khan), who is assigned with a responsibility of eliminating Bikram and Bala, good-luck and bad-luck both mark their onset in the lives of the duo.

On one hand it's Satyajit behind the heads of Bala and Bikram, whereas on the other hand it's love triangle in making, where both Bikram and Bala fall in love with Nandita. So does the friendship succeeds in overcoming this deadlock like situation, or is it ACP Satyajit who succeeds in his mission of eradicating Bikram and Bala, to know go and watch the Gundagardi of these `Gundas`.



There is no denying the fact, that while penning down the premise of `Gunday`, Ali Abbas Zafar have tried to come up with a somewhat novel and captivating story idea, by blending together flavours like romance, bromance, love triangle and mafia versus cop war. But regrettably none of these variegated condiment had an iota of novelty in it. In fact it won't be wrong to say that every component deployed in the story line keeps you giving you a "Deja Vu" feel.

Besides, this it's the high degree of predictability which pokes in the plot right at the onset and remains your companion for rest of the runtime. Although Ali has not tried to unnecessarily complicate the premise but even that does not emerge as a plus for the storyline, which is too unadorned to leave any mesmerizing impact on the viewers.

But yeah one thing which can't be denied about premise of `Gunday` is that despite a guileless and excessively simple premise, up till some extent it's scripting which emerges as the grace saver for the writing department. As far as dialogues are concerned then while scribing them dialogue writer Sanjay Masoom has done a great job and has kept them believably realistic.

As far as screenplay of `Gunday` is concerned then it is simply dauntless, although at some places the flow narration appears to be losing its pace, but for that minor glitch one can make story accountable, instead of blaming screenplay for the same.

Besides it's the top notch editing of Rameshwara S Bhagat and cinematography of Aseem Mishra which uptill great extent boosts the flair of this hackneyed cine premise. Action of Sham Kaushal is again a plus for the movie and never gets over board. Exceptional background score of Julius Packiam thoroughly authenticates the credibility of the onscreen proceedings.


With peppy numbers like Jashn-e-Ishqa, Tune Maari Entriyaan and mesmerizing Saiyaan, music of Sohail Sen is simply applaudable and thoroughly beautifies the lyrics of Irshad Kamil.

Coming to the performances, then without doubt every performer of the movie has thoroughly proved his/her mettle, but undoubtedly `Gunday` is all the way Ranveer and Arjun's show.


From the very onset till the culmination it's the picture perfect camaraderie of Ranveeer and Arjun which keeps you captivated within confines of onscreen proceedings. Although in the initial part of first half, Arjun looks a bit hesitant, but by the time movie reaches mid-way the actor regains the momentum to give a tough fight to Ranveer. On the other hand it's Ranveer who starts excelling right from the onset and with every passing moment keeps on raising the bar.

Being the single leading lady of the movie even, Priyanka got ample opportunity to flaunt her acting adroitness and believe me the lady has once again proved that she has that acting dexterity in herself, at the power of which she can outmanuver any of her contemporaries.


As usual Irrfan Khan has been superb as ACP Satyajit, and yeah how can one forget Saurabh Shukla who despite having a limited scope of performances quite conveniently succeeds in making his presence feel

To sum up, there is no denying the fact that, storyline or the premise of `Gunday` has nothing new in the offering, and on top of it, it's the high degree of prevailing predictability coefficient which further lessens the entertaining potency of `Gunday`. But at the same time it's the stupendous performances of the protagonists which up till great extent shoulders this "Ghisaa Pitaa" premise and keeps the viewers engaged. Probably after perusing the engaging potency of Gunday's premise I would have gone for 2.5 stars, but keeping in view the performances of the protagonists and a few other relevant cinematic variables, `except the premise`, I am going ahead with 3 stars for this old ale in new bottle kind of cine delight.

Snacking, snoozing are luzuries Arjun Kapoor can hardly afford

Eating and catching up on sleep might be routine for many but actor Arjun Kapoor feels that these two activities are luxuries that actors can hardly afford.

He tells CS, `An actor's life is very hectic. On my days off, the only thing I can think of is eating and sleeping. I love to dig into some great food and catch up on sleep.



Travelling is cool only if you have a longer vacation or else chilling out at home is the best thing to do.

My idea of a perfect day off is to gorge on food and watch films back-to-back. However, I don't have any complaints about the lack of holidays; I am a workaholic and happiest on the film sets.`