Otherness and Selfhood in Imtiaz Ali’s Highway

Abstract

Highway is a 2014 Indian road film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali. It tells the story of a girl (Alia Bhatt) who develops Stockholm syndrome after being kidnapped.Veera, a young bride-to-be, is abducted by a common goon, Mahabir, and his men a day prior to her wedding. Far from being terrified of her abductor, Veera discovers an adventurous and liberating life.Road movies trace the internal transformation of their characters. The conflicts that consume are basically internal ones. Road movies are not about what can be seen or verbalized but about what can be felt about the invisible that complements the visible. Identity crisis of the protagonist mirrors the identity crisis of the culture itself. This paper is an attempt to study how a travel with a goon brings in new identity to the protagonist and how herself is transformed from a fragile girl to a strong lady. The condition transforms from the fear of unknown to identifying the real enemy.