Let’s count the stereotypes—Yes, Tamilians like, sorry, love their coffee! Yes, they might take to Carnatic music too. But No, they aren’t morose and unfriendly (at least not to such gigantic, contrasting levels when compared to the so-called overjoyed Punjabi overkill), they don’t eat out of a banana leaf all the time and their home doesn’t look like the cheerless dungeon where people rejected from Narnia live even though the setting looked beautiful, and the home felt homely!
And what about their counterparts—the Punjabis? Now, these are mostly queries as I cannot vouch for them. Are they really so prone to racial discrimination? Do they always scowl when they say ‘Madrasi’ and become little dragons with flared nostrils?
That said, stereotypes are used to create a familiarity without which a story like this would hold no water. There have to be certain obvious clichés. But then again, there could have been so much more than that. If director Abhishek Verman was so bent on bombarding us with the stereotypes, it could have been executed with more wit, with a plot packed with possibilities.
So, when Punjabi boy Krish (Arjun Kapoor) and Tamizh ‘ponnu’ Ananya (Alia Bhatt) fall head over heels in love, what they have to tackle is a lot more than brimming love—their families. The tale isn’t so unfamiliar; of course you must have a cousin who is half Tamil, quarter Bengali and one-fourth Gujarati, or something on those lines.
Krish is a sensitive, soft-spoken boy, who looks like he has a tear ready to split at the corner of his eye, always. He looks geeky, introverted and studious. Ananya is a spirited chicken-eating Tam-brahm, who’s a lot less sensitive than Krish, and is a lot more progressive and practical. It’s almost like Krish could have passed for a Tamilian and Ananya, a Punjabi, if you did like them, clichés that is! Both are at IIM Ahmedabad and they live together in Krish’s hostel room.
So when they fall in love, the battle begins—and surprisingly the annoyingly narrow-minded mom of Krish (Amrita Singh), who’s otherwise a dimwit, hits bulls eye by calling it the ‘Politics of Marriage’. Krish’s parents (an amazing Ronit Roy and clawing Amrita Singh) and Ananya’s parents (quietly charming Revathy and fits-the-bill Shiv Kumar Subramaniam) are embroiled in this community war, with bitter remarks at the ‘unintelligent Punjabis’ and ‘black Tamilians’.
If this wasn’t a 150 minute drama, you could have ignored it; but the fact that these allegations are seemingly the only things that kept the families apart is far-fetched. The result being, a drab storyline that had the potential to be quirky and funny. Somewhere what Ananya says rings true, “It’s not about being from different communities”, she says. Although she uses it in a totally different context, that was the thought running in my head as well.
The divide couldn’t have been much less explored—there have been cross-cultural romances filmed before, and I badly wanted a different angle than just racially-charged dynamics all over the walls. I wanted Ananya, or her parents at the very least, to falter with the Hindi diction. For a Tamil family, they did speak Hindi comfortably, even after Ananya’s forewarning that no one in Chennai speaks Hindi! Something to do with the nuances of the languages, or the sensibilities of people, or funny misinterpretations could have offered a respite from bollywood’s staple songs as well.
Arjun Kapoor talks to a psychotherapist at two different points in the story, but looks like he’s coming out of anaesthesia most of the time. What’s with the perpetual sad face? Admittedly daddy issues, but he sulks so much that when he does smile, it shocks you a little. He looks the same when in love and when in conflict; maybe he really couldn't see the difference. Alia Bhatt more than makes up for it though; she has easily got a grip on her character, and carries it forward with aplomb. She convinces you with her quick smiles and furtive glances (too many smiles though). For a change, it is the female lead who is in control of her emotions.
In a quick overview, “2 States” would mint money for all its marketing, and thanks to Chetan Bhagat’s extensive reach among the target audience. Mahabalipuram steals the show with its grandeur, and as for us, 2 States, 22 different equations (among the families) and the fairytale love seems, what’s that now?... nothing remarkable? You said it!
PS: Alia is that cheerful spot on the screen you'd want to concentrate on, and for the sparkles she adds to the story, there are extra brownie points!
2.75/5