• Parental opposition is one of the oldest conflicts as far as love stories go. Sure, the culture clash here gives us some genuine laughs. But at 2 hours and 30 minutes, this is a long, indulgent film that wears you out. I’ve never rooted so hard for a couple to get married. If only so I could go home.

  • Shubhra Gupta
    Shubhra Gupta
    Indian Express

    5

    It’s nice to see Bollywood attempting to create a contemporary young couple. I liked the way they proceed without fuss into that most modern of compacts — of attraction that leads to conjugation, minus coyness. It is done as just something that happens, a no-weightage progression. Which is why the parental ‘khit- khit’ seems, after a point, overdone and mothballed. The smooth, engaging first half descends, post-interval, into mopey melodrama, and I got impatient waiting for the inevitable resolution.

  • Anupama Chopra
    Anupama Chopra
    Hindustan Times

    5

    Ultimately 2 States is unwieldy and disappointing.

  • Sweta Kaushal
    Sweta Kaushal
    Hindustan Times

    -

    First, there is nothing new that the film brings to the story. Yes, Chetan Bhagat is happy about how wonderfully Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor have brought his love life to the silver screen. But that’s about it. If you loved Chetan Bhagat’s novel, go read it again and skip the film. That will save you some money and will be far more satisfying.

  • Kusumita Das
    Kusumita Das
    Deccan Chronicle

    6

    A key advantage of adapting a bestselling novel into a film is that one doesn’t need to sell the story, they just have to tell it. And in the process, they need to stay as honest as possible to their source of inspiration. The editing is at times abrupt, but the sincere performances and the freshness of the film makes these glitches seem too small. It won’t be wrong to say 2 States is a good state for Bollywood to be in.

  • There’s nothing that should keep you from watching 2 States. If you’re as desi as I am and get senti about maa, there’s no way you won’t run home after watching this film and give your mother a big hug.

  • 2 States is good for a one-time watch.
    The unabashed shallowness of a Chetan Bhagat book meets the inane glitter of a Karan Johar-Sajid Nadiadwala production in 2 States.

    The result is the creation of a third state – the state of overpowering indolence.

  • Meena Iyer
    Meena Iyer
    Times of India

    8

    If you are in a mood for a Bollywood family saga with measured melodrama and the right amount of naach-gaana, visit 2 States.

  • The first half is light and breezy and the second dramatic and emotional, perhaps a better balance would have helped the post interval portion which seems heavy.

  • Rohit Khilnani
    Rohit Khilnani
    India Today

    4

    Two States is a well-packaged product with great posters and promos but the film is disappointing. The problem is that the movie is too long and moves at a very slow pace. Long conversations make it even more boring.

  • 2 states is barely unwatchable but misses the magic of Chetan Bhagat’s novel. As a stand alone, it is endearingly done with Alia and Arjun’s scorching chemistry coming off as adorable. Despite a half baked soul, this movie is worth the price of your popcorn. The Bhagat fan in me is disappointed but the cinegoer isn’t.

  • Saurabh Dwivedi
    Saurabh Dwivedi
    India Today

    8

    2 States can be a good mirror for parents to understand their children. So take along your parents and enjoy the film.

  • Taran Adarsh
    Taran Adarsh
    Bollywood Hungama

    9

    2 STATES is one of the finest movies to come out of the Hindi film industry of late. This is one of those rare Hindi movies that commands a repeat viewing. Strongly recommended!

  • Sachin Chatte
    Sachin Chatte
    The Navhind Times

    5

    2 States could have been a charming little film but it toils and trudges long enough to make you desperate to head for the exit door. Brevity is not only the soul of wit, it should essentially be the trait of many of our Bollywood films as well.

  • While the performances tug at your heartstrings, it’s the labored pace that tests your patience. You enjoy it for the most part but the journey still tires you out.

  • The film is another testimony to the changing times at Dharma Productions. Business-wise, they have tied up with Nadiadwala Grandsons and its a leap of faith for both the production houses to let go of old norms and boldly set new trends. We need more such collaborations as they spell exciting times ahead for cinema.

  • While the film per say is smooth and easy, what bothers is the steady tone in narration. Life is not so simple and people don’t always get angry in a polite manner. Sometimes, one does lose his or her cool. Every character is so guarded in their approach that you wonder how one can stay sane throughout.

    Having said that, it would also be safe to say that 2 STATES will find acceptance from the ‘young in love’.

  • 2 States is an enjoyable film, though an average piece of entertainment. It feels too long and the narration is quite irregular. The story would have benefited from a better balance between romance and drama, which would have allowed the leading couple’s performance to stand out more intensely.

  • The chemistry between Arjun and Alia is easy and endearing. Both do a decent job and for once, the actors actually look like they could belong to a campus. But after a point, their love saga becomes a bit of a drag, as you keep waiting for some funny banter or some exciting drama.

  • Subhash K Jha
    Subhash K Jha
    SKJBollywoodNews

    -

    Two world, two cultures, two families, one love story…2 States re-defines and rejuvenates the love-marriage space.Simple and yet striking,gorgeous and graceful, this is a film where we come away hankering to know what happens to the couple after the film is over.

  • OneIndia
    OneIndia
    OneIndia

    8

    Abhishek Varman has done total justice to Chetan Bhagat’s book and delightfully taken it. With the soundtrack incredibly gelling with the film, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have done wonderful work. 2 States is a total entertainer and a sure shot Bollywood box office hit!

  • With ‘2 States’, both Varman and writer Bhagat himself, have proven that a good film in Bollywood does not have to be loud and slapstick with stellar music and A-list stars, but that script and good direction is still king at the movies.

  • Put simply, 2 States is as much an accurate representation of IIM-A as Legally Blonde was of Harvard University, and as much an accurate look at relationships as, well, not even a Chetan Bhagat novel. As forgettable as the book was, it gets more of the detailing right and possesses a stronger, more authentic narrative. Consequently, 2 States ends up adhering to the established rule of the book being better than the movie.

  • Dharma’s trademark visual style and a few moments of comedy aside, 2 States is mostly a chore and periodically infuriating. The filmmakers had a chance to go against all odds and make a classic and they blew it. Critical appreciation might not be the film’s target anyway, because it’s been marketed well enough to make a truckload of money.

  • Komal Nahta
    Komal Nahta
    Komal Nahta's Blog

    -

    2 States is an entertaining love story which will definitely work at the box-office – more in the cities and with the multiplex audience. With almost 80-85% of its entire cost (of producing, promoting and releasing) recoverable from non-theatrical sources, reaping a rich harvest should be a cakewalk for the producers as its theatrical business will also be good. Business in Overseas will be very good, additionally because of the Easter weekend. The film’s distributors and exhibitors will all make decent profits in the film.

  • Mansha Rastogi
    Mansha Rastogi
    NowRunning

    4

    …is a wasted opportunity to encash the popularity of a book. Despite the cast, the budgets and brand in place, the film fails to make a mark purely due to faulty execution. Not a funny or entertaining rom-com this one.

  • Daily Bhaskar
    Daily Bhaskar
    Daily Bhaskar

    7

    2 States is a complete family entertainer which has everything positive about it. There is no over the top drama or heavy action scene. For everyone who has read the novel, keep your expectations in check. WATCH IT.

  • Aparna Mudi
    Aparna Mudi
    Zee News

    4

    Watch the movie for a lack of any other show to go to with your loved one. Despite the attempts of a modern love story, this 2 and a half hour movie can get to your nerves if you are expecting anything different.

  • Juhi Matta
    Juhi Matta
    BookMyShow

    7

    2 States is a film that rom-com fans are bound to enjoy. It gives a hilarious, yet realistic portrayal of cultural clashes. Moreover, the movie delivers a nice message, without ever getting too preachy. With its charming performances and wonderful soundtrack, 2 States is the perfect movie for summer viewing.

  • IndiaGlitz
    IndiaGlitz
    India Glitz

    8

    2 States is a feel good, determined, marvelously performed and very affectingly rich emotional romance filled with desi ethos that says great love has to undergo doubt, trials, and hardships to gain its deepest rewards it’s not about communities it’s about people, love, faith and acceptance. Gift (watch this ) with someone you love.

  • Prathamesh Jadhav
    Prathamesh Jadhav
    Bollywood Life

    8

    Hate Chetan Bhagat or love him, loath his books or swear by them but you certainly can’t ignore him and most certainly you can’t ignore this delicious movie made with sincere efforts and heart. If you are madly in love, lonely without love or in search of love, you must catch this one, for falling head over the heels for someone is not enough. Sometimes taking a step further to take affection to its logical conclusion- no matter how the odds are stacked – initiates the beginning of a happy ending. For now it is advisable to enjoy the journey, the process and the mush will follow!

  • With cut-backs to a shrink’s couch from where Krish is narrating his life, and peppered with songs, the story takes a long road to the climactic wedding in a beautiful temple under cloudy skies—the most beautiful sequence in the film.
    The labour and fuss over this cross-state marriage are tedious. From an overblown soap opera, it is unfair to expect better.

  • The film targets a young audience, and they have to be prepared to appreciate the story at a slower pace than they are used to in commercial Bollywood cinema. It’s worth the patience, because you get a well-cooked meal where all the flavours get a change to integrate with the dish. Worth sampling!

  • When you walk out of 2 States, then, one isn’t likely to be absolutely gushing about it, nor will one be particularly annoyed by it. It just gives you what it promises – tolerable enough fun for just as long as it lasts.

  • Rahul Desai
    Rahul Desai
    Mumbai Mirror

    4

    ‘Two States’ lacks that exact sense of casting, instead relying too heavily on people’s perception of the book and its’ modest goals.

  • Anuj Kumar
    Anuj Kumar
    The Hindu

    -

    Try it if you have the patience!
    …It is their natural charm, particularly Alia’s effortless approach that makes you invest in their relationship despite the fact that the narrative unfolds in a soap operatic tone.

  • JPN
    JPN
    Jagran

    -

    Those, who have read Chetan Bhagat’s ‘2 States’, may not find much in the movie but the director deserves a big applause for depicting the story in a fresh manner which will keep the audience stick by their seats for sure. Varman has smartly used flash back for narrating the movie which gives it an edge.

  • While they are the central characters, it was entertaining to watch the director flesh out the troubled strains between Krish and his violence-prone father, played by the talented actor Ronit Roy. Their decision to call it a truce was as uplifting as watching the lovers unite at the end of the film. Don’t skip this if you have a thing for happily-ever-after endings.