Rating-***/*****
Highway is a 2014 Bollywood romance-drama film, directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. It stars Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles. The film will be released worldwide on February 21, 2014. The film will be screened in the Panorama section of the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival. The film features the original score and soundtrack composed by A. R. Rahman.
Contents
1 Cast
2 Production
2.1 Development
2.2 Casting
2.3 Crew
2.4 Filming
3 Music
4 Marketing
4.1 Controversy
5 Release
6 References
7 External links
Cast
Alia Bhatt as Veera Tripathi
Randeep Hooda as Mahabir Bhati
Production
Development[edit]
In an interview with The Telegraph, Imtiaz Ali, the director of the film stated, "Highway has been a story that has stayed with me for 15 years. There was something in it that didn’t die. Usually you lose interest in a story beyond a certain point. But with Highway, there was something very subtle, yet something very influential. I intended Highway to be the first film that I ever made." While penning the script he stated he had to change many scenes of the film Highway because he felt they were becoming too similar to his previous film, Jab We Met.He claimed the film to be his first digital movie. In the April 2013 interview with the same, he said Highway is primarily the story of two characters from very different backgrounds — played by Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt — who take the road trip across six states in a truck. Further, Ali told that he had thought of making Highway in various ways. At an instant he thought of making it a very big action film later he thought of scripting it in a very romantic way; some 12 years back, he drew romantic instances from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. He added, "The film is about the discovery of yourself while traveling. It’s a coming-of-age movie." Prior to shooting he didn't complete scripting for the film and the script got ready after the shooting of the scenes because the dialogues were decided on the spot.
Casting
In December 2012, reports emerged that Imtiaz Ali has cast Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt for his upcoming film Highway.[8] However, in February 2013 the casting was officially confirmed. Ali claimed that earlier he was looking out for an older actress to match up with Hooda. However, the role went to Alia Bhatt that made effect on his film script. Later he added, "I needed somebody who is city slick girl (Alia Bhatt), who has never been out. But the guy (Randeep Hooda) had to be somebody who has had a life and understanding of life".
Crew
As per previous collaboration of Ali with the composer A.R. Rahman, the latter's inclusion in the project though initially rumored was confirmed by March 2013. In an interview with The Telegraph Ali stated that he wasn’t even thinking of A.R. Rahman to score for this film. However, after reading the script Rahman agreed to score.The film is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under his new production house Window Seat Films and Imtiaz Ali is the co-producer. The cinematography was done by Anil Mehta. Resul Pookutty was roped in for the film's sound design. Lyricist Irshad Kamil has penned the songs.
Filming
Filming began in early March 2013 on highways of India. Imtiaz Ali quoted, "Highway is emotionally charged, physically strenuous". The first look as a snap at the filming location featuring the director and the lead actors was released in March 2013.[15] Initially, the director planned to shoot along Bengal-Bihar-Odisha highway road belt but later opted to shoot along the road highways of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, making the film first of its kind to shoot such. Scenes were shot in Kuchaman valley where the sand dunes provided the terrain transitions that were necessarily required.[6] In mid-April 2013, the crew was off to Gurais, Kashmir to shoot a song and some sequences in the valley. Scenes in Aru valley and Chandanwari near Pahalgam were also canned.By early May 2013, nearly seventy percent of the filming was completed. Although the entire shooting was planned for 60 days the team finished the same in 52 days. Officially, the shooting was wrapped up on May 28, 2013.
Music
The film soundtrack is composed by A. R. Rahman and lyrics written by Irshad Kamil. Intially, the film was planned with only background score and no songs.
The track titled "Patakha Guddi", sung by the duo Nooran sisters - Jyoti and Sultana was released as a single on January 7, 2014. The song lyrically describes freedom and holds abstracts of purity and wildness.
The track "Maahi Ve" sung by A. R. Rahman was the next single that released on January 16, 2014. Both these singles framed the score of the theatrical trailer and clenched second position on iTunes India single charts on their respective release dates.
A single stanza of the track "Sooha Saha" is sung by Alia Bhatt, marking her debut as a singer. Additional vocals on the track were sung by Zeb and Haniya.In the film as the journey moves from the plains of Punjab to the hills of Himachal, Veera (character played by Alia Bhatt) sings this lullaby that reminds Mahabir (character played by Randeep Hooda) of his childhood. Alia was made to sing to add more poignancy to the scene. The making of the song was released on January 18 that features clips of Bhatt's recording sessions with Rahman.
The track "Patakha Guddi" has a male version sung by Rahman. A musical promotional event took place on January 18, 2014 in Mumbai.
The event also had an interview wherein Rahman stated that there exist a wordless track titled "Implosive Silence" which has hummings by singer Jonita Gandhi. The track was described as 'a state of mind-soothing yet enigmatic'.
Singer Sunidhi Chauhan has recorded a Persian couplet track titled "Tu Kuja Man Kuja". The other tracks of the film album are "Kahan Hoon Main" and "Heera".
The soundtrack album has nine original tracks in all and will release on the record label T-Series.by late January or early February 2014.
Under the guidance of music maestro, Alia Bhatt sings a song in the movie, her first bollywood track.
Marketing
Marketing began from November 2013 wherein series of behind the scenes footages as episodes titled under the head "Highway Diaries" were released on Bollywood Hungama's production blog.
# Episode title Location
1 "Episode 1" Mangar village, Gurgaon-Faridabad road
2 "Episode 3" Ajmer
3 "Episode 5" Sambhar Salt Pan
3 "Episode 6" Bikaner
4 "Episode 7" Ferozpur
5 "Episode 10" Tabo
6 "Episode 13" Kashmir
The films' merchandises namely head gears, jackets, map scarfs, bags and shirts, all consisting fabric prints of title logo were made available for online sale.
Controversy
In September 2013, a morphed bedroom scene from the movie went viral on the internet. The scene depicted Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda in a compromising position. Later, Alia tweeted that it was neither she nor Randeep in that picture, and there was no such scene in the movie.
Release
Initially set to release on December 12, 2013, the film's released date was shifted to February 21, 2014. The trailer of the film was released on 16 December 2013 at 2030 hrs IST.
Highway is a 2014 Bollywood romance-drama film, directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. It stars Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles. The film will be released worldwide on February 21, 2014. The film will be screened in the Panorama section of the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival. The film features the original score and soundtrack composed by A. R. Rahman.
Contents
1 Cast
2 Production
2.1 Development
2.2 Casting
2.3 Crew
2.4 Filming
3 Music
4 Marketing
4.1 Controversy
5 Release
6 References
7 External links
Cast
Alia Bhatt as Veera Tripathi
Randeep Hooda as Mahabir Bhati
Production
Development[edit]
In an interview with The Telegraph, Imtiaz Ali, the director of the film stated, "Highway has been a story that has stayed with me for 15 years. There was something in it that didn’t die. Usually you lose interest in a story beyond a certain point. But with Highway, there was something very subtle, yet something very influential. I intended Highway to be the first film that I ever made." While penning the script he stated he had to change many scenes of the film Highway because he felt they were becoming too similar to his previous film, Jab We Met.He claimed the film to be his first digital movie. In the April 2013 interview with the same, he said Highway is primarily the story of two characters from very different backgrounds — played by Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt — who take the road trip across six states in a truck. Further, Ali told that he had thought of making Highway in various ways. At an instant he thought of making it a very big action film later he thought of scripting it in a very romantic way; some 12 years back, he drew romantic instances from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. He added, "The film is about the discovery of yourself while traveling. It’s a coming-of-age movie." Prior to shooting he didn't complete scripting for the film and the script got ready after the shooting of the scenes because the dialogues were decided on the spot.
Casting
In December 2012, reports emerged that Imtiaz Ali has cast Randeep Hooda and Alia Bhatt for his upcoming film Highway.[8] However, in February 2013 the casting was officially confirmed. Ali claimed that earlier he was looking out for an older actress to match up with Hooda. However, the role went to Alia Bhatt that made effect on his film script. Later he added, "I needed somebody who is city slick girl (Alia Bhatt), who has never been out. But the guy (Randeep Hooda) had to be somebody who has had a life and understanding of life".
Crew
As per previous collaboration of Ali with the composer A.R. Rahman, the latter's inclusion in the project though initially rumored was confirmed by March 2013. In an interview with The Telegraph Ali stated that he wasn’t even thinking of A.R. Rahman to score for this film. However, after reading the script Rahman agreed to score.The film is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under his new production house Window Seat Films and Imtiaz Ali is the co-producer. The cinematography was done by Anil Mehta. Resul Pookutty was roped in for the film's sound design. Lyricist Irshad Kamil has penned the songs.
Filming
Filming began in early March 2013 on highways of India. Imtiaz Ali quoted, "Highway is emotionally charged, physically strenuous". The first look as a snap at the filming location featuring the director and the lead actors was released in March 2013.[15] Initially, the director planned to shoot along Bengal-Bihar-Odisha highway road belt but later opted to shoot along the road highways of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, making the film first of its kind to shoot such. Scenes were shot in Kuchaman valley where the sand dunes provided the terrain transitions that were necessarily required.[6] In mid-April 2013, the crew was off to Gurais, Kashmir to shoot a song and some sequences in the valley. Scenes in Aru valley and Chandanwari near Pahalgam were also canned.By early May 2013, nearly seventy percent of the filming was completed. Although the entire shooting was planned for 60 days the team finished the same in 52 days. Officially, the shooting was wrapped up on May 28, 2013.
Music
The film soundtrack is composed by A. R. Rahman and lyrics written by Irshad Kamil. Intially, the film was planned with only background score and no songs.
The track titled "Patakha Guddi", sung by the duo Nooran sisters - Jyoti and Sultana was released as a single on January 7, 2014. The song lyrically describes freedom and holds abstracts of purity and wildness.
The track "Maahi Ve" sung by A. R. Rahman was the next single that released on January 16, 2014. Both these singles framed the score of the theatrical trailer and clenched second position on iTunes India single charts on their respective release dates.
A single stanza of the track "Sooha Saha" is sung by Alia Bhatt, marking her debut as a singer. Additional vocals on the track were sung by Zeb and Haniya.In the film as the journey moves from the plains of Punjab to the hills of Himachal, Veera (character played by Alia Bhatt) sings this lullaby that reminds Mahabir (character played by Randeep Hooda) of his childhood. Alia was made to sing to add more poignancy to the scene. The making of the song was released on January 18 that features clips of Bhatt's recording sessions with Rahman.
The track "Patakha Guddi" has a male version sung by Rahman. A musical promotional event took place on January 18, 2014 in Mumbai.
The event also had an interview wherein Rahman stated that there exist a wordless track titled "Implosive Silence" which has hummings by singer Jonita Gandhi. The track was described as 'a state of mind-soothing yet enigmatic'.
Singer Sunidhi Chauhan has recorded a Persian couplet track titled "Tu Kuja Man Kuja". The other tracks of the film album are "Kahan Hoon Main" and "Heera".
The soundtrack album has nine original tracks in all and will release on the record label T-Series.by late January or early February 2014.
Under the guidance of music maestro, Alia Bhatt sings a song in the movie, her first bollywood track.
Marketing
Marketing began from November 2013 wherein series of behind the scenes footages as episodes titled under the head "Highway Diaries" were released on Bollywood Hungama's production blog.
# Episode title Location
1 "Episode 1" Mangar village, Gurgaon-Faridabad road
2 "Episode 3" Ajmer
3 "Episode 5" Sambhar Salt Pan
3 "Episode 6" Bikaner
4 "Episode 7" Ferozpur
5 "Episode 10" Tabo
6 "Episode 13" Kashmir
The films' merchandises namely head gears, jackets, map scarfs, bags and shirts, all consisting fabric prints of title logo were made available for online sale.
Controversy
In September 2013, a morphed bedroom scene from the movie went viral on the internet. The scene depicted Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda in a compromising position. Later, Alia tweeted that it was neither she nor Randeep in that picture, and there was no such scene in the movie.
Release
Initially set to release on December 12, 2013, the film's released date was shifted to February 21, 2014. The trailer of the film was released on 16 December 2013 at 2030 hrs IST.