Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Starring Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin, Naseeruddin Shah.
Review:
After Luck By Chance, director Zoya Akhtar brings us ZNMD. From what little we have seen of her, we know that her movies don’t follow the usual boy meets girl, girl’s father disagrees, boy fights goons sent by girl’s father, boy wins girl’s AND father’s heart storyline. I can’t say with how much passion I hate that kinda storylines.
That being said, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara somehow turned out to be a “Dil Chahta Hai” of sorts of the current age. To those who don’t know Dil Chahta Hai (IMDB 8.3) , it was a cult classic hit made a decade ago and was the first direction by Farhan Akhtar. It changed the rule books of Bollywood which was tuned to making lovey dovey sappy movies like Hum Apke Hain Kaun, Dil Wale Dulhania Le Jayenge e.t.c. Dil Chahta Hai brought a new age in terms of storylines and direction.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is not going to change the pages of Bollywood. But it would be remembered as one of the movies which showed what talent we have in Indian Cinema. Direction was first class, acting was brilliant, story was immersing, music is refreshing, choreography and cinematography was simple and perfect. You are taken on a ride with these three friends and shown the issues that they face and how they overcome it by going on the road trip that they always wanted.
Story in brief:
Arjun, Kabir and Imran. These are the three friends. Arjun, a financial broker from London, played by Hrithik, Kabir, who comes from a wealthy construction business, played by Abhay and Imran, a writer who earns little compared to the other two, played by Farhan. Kabir’s engagement to Natasha (played by Kalki) sets about the trio onto planning a long overdue road trip to Spain.
Through this trip, they face and overcome their issues with the help of their friends. Kabir for one, doesn’t know for sure if he is ready for the marriage. Arjun on the other hand has become workaholic and still holds Imran guilty of his break-up with Sunani. Imran is searching for his father who had long abandoned him and his mother right after he was born.
Songs:
A lot can be said about a Bollywood movie from the songs it has in it. This movie starts off with the song Dil Dhadakne Do and shows as the three friends prepare themselves for their long-awaited road trip. The lyrics and tune just somehow make you end up feeling as if you are preparing on a holiday. In fact, if you are hate going to work (like 99% of us do) then you should listen to this song everyday morning! Might actually make you feel better, who knows!
Ik Junoon, played during the La Tomatina festival is another great piece as well. And in my view, the best one has to be Khwabon ke Parindey. The cinematography done is absolutely fantastic. Getting the video to carry the emotion being portrayed in the lyrics of the song is a tough job. There are very few songs which nail it to this perfection. The drive through the Spanish openness and the blue skies all around make it even more perfect.
Besides the songs, you should also watch out for the poems mentioned throughout the movie. They are definitely worth mentioning and their timing, the voice of Farhan narrating them, was very well done.
All the songs and poems are worth mentioning in fact but that would make you boring as I would go on and on and on. So lets carry on.
Acting:
I have been waiting to write about this. When you combine Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Hrithik Roshan, what do you get? A feast for your eyes of course! Abhay Deol, has always been a sort of underdog. Comes in very few movies. Most of his movies follow a totally out of mainstream storylines. Has never done a masala movie. And, is doing it right. What an actor he is! Gets right into the character and delivers on every scene. The emotional range he is able to portray is amazing. In one scene he and Farhan are making fun of Hrithik by imitating their college teacher’s accent and in a scene just a few moments later, he is playing the serious mediator between Farhan and Hrithik. It’s a roller coaster ride I say!
Farhan Akhtar. I absolutely loved his role and acting in Rock On! movie. He comes from easily one of the most talented family in India. If you see his Wikipedia page, it’s mentioned that he is “an actor, director, producer, lyricist, playback singer, television host, screenwriter”. And he does all those brilliantly! In this movie, his silly antics would get you smiling in no time. Especially the scene where he sends off Hrithik & Katrina on a night walk so that he could get a little more time with his sweetheart and how he makes the entrance into the room to woo her!
And then we have Hrithik Roshan. The first thing I would say is that even with the little scope for dance moves this movie had, he still made his mark! He has had a few dud movies of late but nevertheless, his acting was never in question. In fact, most of his movies get critical acclaim for his acting regardless of the box office collections. The inner turmoil he faced, how he overcame them and how he understood the meaning of life and how to enjoy it are shown in his every scene. I especially liked the scene just after their diving trip and how he tears on having conquered his inner fear of water and feels the tranquility and peacefulness of being alone in massive body of water.
Katrina Kaif. She is definitely a pleasure to watch for any guy. As for her acting though, she leaves a little bit more to be desired. Not that her acting is bad, she has definitely improved over the years. Previously, her acting was utter rubbish and you couldn’t even watch it without cringing. If there was an award for most progress made, it would go to this girl for sure for what she has made of her acting skills and dancing skills. Her reaction and understanding to Farhan’s request on her and Hrithik going on a long night walk was done very well.
I don’t need to mention much about Naseeruddin Shah or Deepti Naval. Where ever they act, they leave a mark!
It was a pleasure to watch the scene around a dinner table in Spain just after a dance performance by the locals. You have everyone on the table, Hrithik, Farhan, Abhay, Katrina, Kalki and Ariadna (the Spanish girl). The simultaneous existence of tension in the scene and the subtle comedy involved was just too good to watch. You end up not knowing if to laugh or be serious.
Moral:
There is no single moral in this movie to say and be done with it. It just goes to show how we might face difficulties in life. In fact, how everyone faces one or the other kind of difficulty and how it is not impossible to overcome those fears and difficulties. And yes, you can say that it is easier to overcome if you had a friend or two helping you face your issues. But if you don’t take a positive step in trying to overcome them, then nobody can help you.
Life isn’t all about working and earning big money. Life is about enjoying the journey and the little aspects of it. And if we have any regrets, it’s better to set about correcting them rather than leaving them as it is only to be bothered by them from time to time.
Ending notes:
I want to go on a road trip to Spain together with my fiancée, my brother and my sis-in-law! This movie makes you want to go out with your friends and family and have an adventure of a trip.
I’ve watched:
2 times and counting!
Trailer:
bollywood4outsiders 