Jul 17, 2011 11:27 AM
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(Updated Jul 17, 2011 11:33 AM)
No wonder what the star-offsprings have to say, it’s a known fact that being born in a family of a celeb helps a lot, whether it’s getting a secured launch pad or learning the nuances of filmmaking correct. Zoya Akhtar is one of those who were surrounded by films, filmmakers and filmdom since she was born and therefore, must have sapped the filmmaking knowledge very early. And this was pretty evident in her debut film Luck By Chance which was exceptional in all respects. And she scores a sixer yet again with Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara which is a lovely ‘slice of life’ film in real terms. The character’s problem, jokes, fears…all looks simply straight out of life. And that’s not all. It is executed brilliantly by Zoya and the breathtaking locales of Spain turn out to be an icing on the cake!
The story of the movie: Kabir (Abhay Deol) is engaged to Natasha (Kalki Koechlin) within 6 months of meeting each other. Before he gets married, he plans a bachelor party with his best buddies from school – Imraan (Farhan Akhtar) and Arjun (Hrithik Roshan). The party was the result of the pact they had made in their college days – each one will chose an adventure sport and the other two will have to do it whether they want to or not! The location is selected – Spain! The trio then set off for the trip where they come across interesting people, iron out the problems in their lives and with each other and most importantly, learn to live life to the fullest!
An interesting trend is going on in Bollywood where characters try to be as real as possible. The lingo, the problems and the situations they get entangled in is all straight out of life. This was seen in the recent hits Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Delhi Belly as well and the trend goes one step further in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. That’s because at no point, the film goes into an ‘unreal’ zone. Every sequence in the film is as real as it can be. The humour is neither slapstick nor in your face types. The problems that arise might be ordinary but nicely presented. It is situational, quite realistic and sure to evoke lots and lots of laughter. You can’t help but draw parallels of characters with maybe yourself or someone you know. After all, we surely know some workaholic for who work and money matters the most. We have come across possessive girlfriends. We have met people who are not sure about their marriage days before they are about to tie the knot. And lastly, we surely have bumped into people who joke, fool around and are full of life but might be hiding lot of sadness within them. With such characters, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is easily relatable!
The film begins very ordinarily but interestingly. The film picks up as soon as the trio meets in Spain. The first hour is full-on masti and humour with a dash of some heart-tugging moments. The intermission comes at a hilarious point! In the second half too, the fun is maintained. Yes, the film does drag in this hour especially during Naseeruddin Shah’s sequence but again, it was deftly handled. The climax was dhamakedaar and the film couldn’t have ended in a better way!
The actors in the film come with the baggage of image but their brilliant performance ensure you see them as only characters without comparing them with their past performance! Hrithik Roshan was simply superb as the workaholic striving to break free. Watch out for him when he come back from the deep sea diving and during the song Khaabon Ke Parindey! Great to see that after 2 commercial flops, Hrithik is back in the top league!
Farhan Akhtar is the surprise package of the film! His act reminded me of the antiques he did in Oye Its Friday which I so loved! And he repeats it here with aplomb! However, he shines in the emotional scenes as well - a sure sign of a wonderful actor! Abhay Deol too gives his best shot and was terrific in the confrontational sequences.
Katrina Kaif like everytime looks ravishing and proves that she’s a terrific performer as well. It’s a feat that post-Yuvvraaj, she’s not given a single flop in the last 3 years! This speaks volumes of her excellent choice of films! Great going! Kalki Koechlin, although doesn’t boast of a lengthy role, has an important part in the film and like everytime, excels! Ariadna Cabrol (Farhan’s girlfriend) didn’t have much to do in the film. Naseeruddin Shah shines in the lone sequence. Deepti Naval and others were good.
This wasn’t Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s best or even one of the best works but there’s no doubt that the songs have a soul. Ik Junoon, Khaabon Ke Parinday and Senorita were all equally good. But the trio’s background score was soothing especially during the deep sea diving and skydiving scenes. Carlos Catalan’s cinematography was one of the USPs of the film! The locales of Spain are stunningly captured! Special mention should also go to the skydiving and underwater scenes. It must have been a hell of a job to rightly capture the scenes and character’s emotions at such heights…hats off!
Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar come up with an interesting plotline and better it with their screenplay. And Zoya’s direction as mentioned before was simply terrific! Two factors that I loved the most about her execution was firstly, adventure sports are shown in a new light. Sure, it is risky and seems life-threatening but it does give you solace. And Zoya proves it wonderfully. In fact, I predict an increase in the number of people wanting to try these sports! And secondly, all the 3 main actors are given equal screen presence. No one tries to overpower each other and equal importance is given to all of them! Kudos to Zoya and dying to see her next film!
Some of the best scenes:
Imraan’s speech at Kabir’s engagement
Arjun tends to a Japanese client
Imraan throws away Arjun’s phone (terrific scene)
Laila’s entry
The deep-sea diving scene
The intermission point (hilarious!)
Arjun-Laila take a walk
The songs Ik Junoon, Khaabon Ke Parinday and Senorita
The skydiving sequence
Imraan meets his father
Kabir ‘proposes’ to Natasha
Kabir confronted by Imraan and Arjun
The climax
On the whole, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a gem of a film that teaches how to live life and be free. The characters are as real and interesting as they can and you are sure to laugh and cry with them. The film won’t suffer if you miss it…it’l be the other way round! So go for it!
My rating- ½
