Love is snapping at my heels.

2 States
Abhishek Verman 2014 India
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Arjun Kapoor, Shiv Kumar Subramaniam, Amrita Singh, Revathi, Ronit Roy, Achint Kaur

Love across borders has been a staple of drama dating right back to Romeo and Juliet but is particularly prevalent on screen. Of course Shakespeare's play (which has been adapted a wearying number of times) posited a fatal relationship between members of warring families but not all instances have been that simple, Nagisa Oshima's Max, Mon Amour for example went completely off the deep end with Charlotte Rampling playing a woman having an affair with a chimpanzee and Anthony Higgins the husband who, not wishing to appear politically incorrect, invites his wife's lover to live with them and there have been countless cinematic cases of romances between criminals and police. In recent years however the premise has become overused - she's left wing, he's right wing; she's a pauper, he's the Marquis de Sade; she's a Capricorn and he's a cunt etc - so it's refreshing to see director Abhishek Verman employ a different perspective. His 2 States is based around Chetan Bhagat's semiautobiographical novel of the same name and, as its title suggests, takes as its subjects a couple from the same country but different areas and religions - respectively a Punjabi man, Krish, and a Tamil Brahmin woman, Ananya - falling in love at university before having to convince their families to allow their marriage with the main oppositional force being inbuilt xenophobia. In another unexpected twist this racism (mainly the view of the older generation but seeping into the consciousness of their offspring as if it has been learned obliviously from continual exposure) isn't only tolerated but is generally accepted to the point that the lovers have to introduce each other as 'friends' as their horrified parents refuse to make conversation. Unfortunately the project's substantial potential is almost entirely deflated by a pair of leads who aren't really strong enough to transcend the more disappointing moments and a weak script that allows Krish to achieve his dream of being a writer despite his lack of any noticeable talent or even ideas, renders his father a token unpleasant (and abusive) but ultimately redeemable 'relative with issues' (who everyone openly and quite understandably detests throughout) and gives him little to do other than smash things and throws in an interesting scene where Krish walks off in a disgusted huff at the sight of Ananya in Daisy Dukes and she changes into trousers to make him happy only to never mention it again and not even attempt to mine the anti-feminist situation it's created leaving the distinct impression that the makers support Ananya's submission. As Ananya twenty one year old Alia Bhatt (the daughter of the director Mahesh Bhatt and the actress Soni Razdan) is sparky, believably relaxed and even likeable but is too inexperienced to really rise above the average. Arjun Kapoor meanwhile is barely better than basic and even poor in some scenes. Far superior is Shiv Kumar Subramaniam's (a noted screenwriter) sensitive portrayal of Ananya's father, a man subtle yet frank, firm yet henpecked but above all a loving father and much-needed well-rounded character. Such is the level to which he stands out that the film noticeably dips when he slips into the periphery and it's hard not to be disappointed that he's not featured more often. There are possibilities in the script's critique of the view of divorce in both cultures and a brave disenchantment with arranged marriage but overall the film is a let down. It's not funny enough to work as a comedy, not powerful or emotional enough to be a successful drama and lacks sufficient warmth and personality to give the viewer a reason to care. The direction is too ordinary, the story stretched too thin and the musical sequences substandard and only enlivened by Bhatt's ability as a singer and dancer. That the main producer is Bollywood jack-of-all-trades Karan Johar feels like a final disappointment. He and many of the involved are capable of so much better.