Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Movie Review: Dil Chahta Hai Upgraded

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is Dil Chahta Hai topped with Spanish flavor. But what the heck, the movie is delightfully refreshing in its treatment; it makes a subtle but refreshing impact.

How similar Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is with Dil Chahta Hai: Apart from the fact that both the movies were from the stable of Farhan Akhtar, there are quite a few parallels and dissimilarities. DCH(2001) was trend-setting and still seems fresh in our minds. It was the story of three guys with different personalities; they bond famously until an incident happens which leads to an altercation between two of the characters before all is well towards the end.

Just like in Dil Chahta Hai, the three guys in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara have a deep seated bonding but two of the friends have a misunderstanding between them Like DCH, the characters in ZNMD are rich, upwardly mobile and go through emotional highs and lows.

While DCH toyed around with Goa for a few scenes, ZNBD is based in Spain. It is about three guys taking an extended road trip to Spain. During the course of the trip, the three come to terms with their real selves, their fears, their insecurities and the emotional baggage of the past.

Story of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Kabir (Abhay Deol) has just proposed to his girlfriend Natasha (Kalki Koechlin) but before he gets settled, he wants to celebrate his bachelors’ birthday. He invites his friends Imran (Farhan Akhtar) and Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) for an extended road-trip to Spain. This, because they had promised to each other that if they would meet next time, they would participate in an adventure sport and what better than Spain! One can sense in the beginning that there has been some friction between Arjun and Imran because of a past incident that involved a girl in their lives. Nevertheless, they begin to forget their past issues and bond along well. They come stronger from each experience as they get ready to enjoy each moment, overcome each of their inherent fears and emotional baggage.


Plus points of the film

1. The story is familiar, there is nothing really different in the film, we have seen the things that are shown in the film before as well, but never in such a visually arresting and splendid manner. All the recurring themes of love coming-of-age, friend, love may have been seen before but Zoya and Farhan Akhtar bring an irrepressible zest to the proceedings.
2. The conversations are peppered with real-life humor. Without being derogatory, there is cheerful banter and funny digs that will make you break into smile.
3. One has to appreciate the way Zoya deals with some of the emotional content in the film on a superficial level, minus the dramatic detail but it is significant enough to get a peek into a character’s behavior. For instance, we come to know that Hrithik is money-minded because of a life-turning episode back in his childhood. There is no flashback but an understated, effective approach of why his decisions are often dictated by monetary considerations.
4. India has its first road-trip move..yippie
5. All the three characters appear quite real and believable

Minus points of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
1. One feels that the dialogues could have had more crisp one-liners. Dil Chahta Hai had them by the dozens; in ZNMD, it is all about the usual conversations but some cool lines could have helped.
2. The juvenile pranks played by Abhay Deol are indeed, juvenile and look silly.
3. Wish Katrina Kaif actually rode the bike.


Best scenes in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
1. The scene where Katrina Kaif tells Hrithik that he should live it up for the present and not be concerned about what he could do, when he would turn 40s.
2. The tomato festival and the brilliant picturization of ‘Ek Junoon-Paint it Red’
3. The paragliding scene
4. The bull fight scene
5. The smooch scene between Katrina Kaif and Hrithik Roshan, and her bike ride
6. The emotion-rich scene between Farhan Akhtar and Naseeruddin Shah.

Performances in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Hrithik Roshan had said that for the first time, the focus would not entirely be on him, he is just one of the characters in the film and that everyone had been given equal space. He is right, everyone has a plum role and the movie breaks into three domains-Imran's, Kabir's and Arjun's giving them enough opportunity to thrive within that space.


Hrithik is shown to be ill-tempered in the beginning but as he gets into the groove of having fun, he lets his hair down and has a ball. In fact, his character evolves through the film. A fantastic performance, yet again. Abhay Deol plays the role of an anchor in the film, he has a Saif Ali Khan type role of Dil Chahta Hai, he is confused about his marriage and does not know if he is really going to be happy with the hitch. The one who really scores is the ever reliable Farhan Akhtar, he is a total natural. Watch him break-down as he talks to his father. In that one scene, he has the audience speechless; he shows that he is second to none when it comes to executingan emotionally driven scene Katrina Kaif has got a short and concise role and she manages to impress to. Kalki Koechlin is what Suchitra Krishnamoorthy was in Dil Chahta Hai, with more screenspace.

Conclusion: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is an outstanding film, refreshing and shows us how to tackle our fears and live the life in our own way, and living it up big for the moment.
Rating:****(Very Good)