Highway movie review: Tests your patience

It's a different Imtiaz Ali romance with few moments of joy but over the top it tests your patience.Ratings-**1/2Cast- Alia Bhatt, Randeep HoodaDirector- Imtiaz AliMusic- A.R. RahmanHighway has things to adore but unpleasantly you suffer with the repeated ‘gif' effect of the flora and fauna of northern India, ubiquitous throughout the two hours and twenty minutes runtime. The landscapes, mountains, rivers passing through and rough plains, though are in plenty in Imtiaz Ali's romantic flick. But it seems as if these scenes are pasted just for the sake of demonstrating the nature's beauty. Ali is scenery admirer and one could easily figure this out watching Highway. But capitalizing over this quotient doesn't complete the flick. It seems the director has promised to the states like Punjab, Kashmir, Rajasthan among others to never betray when it comes to the cinematography in flick something, which was also witnessed in ‘Rockstar'. But thank God we are saved for the bizarre editing, which laid that down badly.Moreover, there are few things for which we admire Imtiaz who narrates it through his two protagonists. Veera (Alia Bhatt), a rich brat from a Delhi family, is soon getting married, but before that she wants to have a secret drive to let free the vibes of her head through some fresh air. She catches her fiancé and pursues him but just to be kidnapped by a gang lead by Mahabir Bhatti (Randeep).But this small time gang is taken aback when they realize that this girl has a powerful family background. Bhatti decides to not to step back and takes her on a road-trip across valleys and landscapes of India just to escape the law.This road-trip on a truck isn't adventurous but Imtiaz through it gives a transient emphasis on the tied up life being spent in the flashy upper-society, which itself possesses a dark and shameful truth. The child abuse is beautifully kept but not meticulously dealt with. We admire Imtiaz for this attempt, which is unlike to his earlier flicks. You feel pity for Alia when she narrates this incident while you have your sympathy for her when she pleads for help and tries to escape by running on an extended platform of Rajasthan. But you want to get on with the freedom she enjoys being with the tormenting gang. Even the mulish gang leader portrayed by Randeep who tries to be harsh to Alia but ends up beseeching her, is hard to digest. In a scene Alia treats Randeep like a bady as he hums a song with which her ‘Amma' used to console him. He runs from her out of anger and a bit shame. Obviously, you can't expect the kidnapper getting irritated like that but still you chuckle over that. Such is the innocent chemistry between the two, Imtiaz keeps it clean throughout but is far from reality. Thanks to the lead couple and music composer A.R. Rahman who make this truck snail on highway. Alia, with her second flick devotes the energy required. She is self-centered and evokes some true emotion. Randeep on his part appears to be a viable goon and never loses his attitude. He gives one of his best performances till date.A. R. Rahman's music though is peppy and brilliant but we are still missing his ‘Rockstar' magic, which won him applauds from all over. His background score makes the sceneries look more beautiful.I'll go with two and a half stars for Highway. It's a different Imtiaz Ali romance with few moments of joy but over the top it tests your patience.