Analyzing an Imtiaz Ali film is always a great experience, finding variations in his stories with multiple interpretations makes it worth your time. The film Highway too has different layers and a lot of things to offer. At first place, it is not a love story, let’s just make that clear. I didn’t feel at any point that Veera (Alia Bhatt) and Mahabir (Randeep Hooda) are actually in love, it’s just that somehow both have been through the same path though being on the opposite sides of the society.
Both are on a journey of self discovery. The story which starts off from the unplanned kidnap of Veera Tripathi as she comes in the way of Mahabir, who’s a truck driver also involved in petty crimes. As I earlier mentioned, Imtiaz Ali films have different interpretations from different perspectives hence it depends upon you how you see the relationship of Mahabir and Veera.
Mahabir and Veera both stand out for each other as a parental figure too, both have been through childhood trauma. While Mahabir orders her in a way like her father yet keeping the order like everything has to be done by her. In a same manner, Mahabir recalls his mother and in a shot we see him relaxing in Veera’s lap while reminiscing his childhood time he spent with his mother. Both act as source of change in each other’s life.
Like Mahabir shows Veera the true essence of the real world of which she was been unaware of. We can say that Veera needed Mahabir to take her out of her shell. The self made and virtual world where she was trapped in for a long time was relieved off by Mahabir, giving her the true fragrance of freedom. In a similar way, Veera becomes the way to change Mahabir’s way of looking towards life. As the story heads further we see him smiling more and getting off all his burdens. The way Imtiaz Ali brings their childhood images together in the final scene, it seems like both Mahabir and Veera, being on the parallel side somewhere will meet again on a different Highway maybe.
Let us know your favourite Imtiaz Ali film. Meanwhile stay tuned to The Indian Wire for more such articles.