A young and affluent girl from Delhi is abducted by a man when she steps out with her fiance one late evening. The two drive into a deserted petrol pump. The girl, whose character is portrayed by Alia Bhatt, steps out of the car and is nabbed by a person called Mahabir Bhati. Bhati dumps the girl into his Tata 407 LCV parked close by even as the girl’s fiance, convulsed in fear, gets into the car and sits there. Bhati drives away with Veera Tripathi (played by Alia Bhatt). For Veera, it is a blessing in disguise. It was to step out and breathe some fresh air that she persuaded her fiance to take her out for a drive. Veera was finding it difficult to come to terms with her marriage; the social and emotional change it would entail. Released in 2014, the Hindi movie, Highway, directed by Imtiaz Ali, saw Bhati driving across the highways of Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir with Veera onboard. Claimed to look at Stockholm Syndrome, the movie drew attention to the issue of child exploitation. In the film, over time, Veera develops feelings for Bhati, played by Randeep Hooda. Things get to a level where Bhati tries to get rid of Veera, but she does not give up on him. The two travel to Kashmir, all the while dodging cops searching for Veera. Veera gets to live her dream as the two begin staying together at Bhati’s house in a mountainous terrain away from the hustle and bustle of the city life.
Across the various highways, and the treacherous himalayan region, the Tata 407 is shown to do its job sincerely. It plays a catalyst, and helps to reveal the plot. Introduced in 1986 by Tata Motors, the 407 has turned out be an iconic LCV in India. Indigenously developed to take on Japanese competition in the form of DCM toyota, Eicher Mitsubishi and Swaraj Mazda, the Tata 407 has sold over 600,000 since the time it was launched. If this underlines the truck’s popularity and success, the fact is, the Tata 407 is synonymous with LCVs in India. Springing no less than 10 variants, including a smaller and lighter 302 pick-up truck, the Tata 407 is found at every nook and corner of the vast country that India is; it is also found to ferry fruits, vegetables, construction material, milk and dairy products, garments, industrial equipment and bits, and much more. Also used by paramilitary forces, the Tata 407, offering a payload capacity in the range of 2.2-tonne to 4.2-tonne, depending on which of the 10 variants one chooses, is also exported to about 15 countries in South Asia and Africa. Also found in a semi-forward bus guise, called the Cityride, which can seat 12 to 24 people, the 407 is powered by a four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine that produces 73 hp. The G-380 synchromesh transmission is a five-speed unit. Suspension is made up of semi-elliptical leaf springs and hydraulic double acting shock absorbers. An anti-roll bar at front provides good stability.
