Sunday, July 17, 2011

Review : Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara


Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara the title says it all. One of the best guy movies directed by a woman Zoya Akhtar. A beautiful piece of cinema which I got to experience this weekend. ZNMD is the story of three young men played by Abhay, Hrithik and Farhaan who take a holiday that changes their lives forever. Kabir [Abhay Deol] is engaged to Natasha [Kalki]. Kabir decides to go on an extended bachelor party, before he gets married. A 3-week road trip with Imraan [Farhan Akhtar] and Arjun [Hrithik Roshan], his two best friends since school. The only problem is Arjun is too tied up with work. After much emotional blackmail and cajoling, the boys set off on a journey they were meant to take four years ago. A fantasy holiday they had planned to take after college, which never happened. A road trip where each one gets to do the ultimate sport of his choice and the other two just have to do it with him. Whether they want to or not!

Kabir, Imraan and Arjun meet up in Barcelona and set off on an adventure that not only make them iron out their differences, but also face their fears, alter their perception, unravel their fabric, force them to break out of the box and teach them to seize the day. This holiday changes their lives forever.

Unlike her debut movie Luck By Chance, Zoya does something visually and thematically diverse this time around. In ZNMD, Zoya chooses an attention-grabbing story and garnishes it well with moments that may seem straight out of a person's memoirs. The first half has several wonderful moments and the strain between the Imraan and Arjun is well presented, the post-interval portions right till the well-thought-of culmination keeps your attention arrested. While there are few moments which are very slow in the movie however when you see the overall effect and the entire movie you would like to pass them off.

The Spanish plain is captured very well by the cinematographer Carlos Catalan especially the Tomatino festival and the Bull sequences are breath taking. Dialogues by Farhaan Aktar are wonderful which is mixed with couplets penned by Javed Akhtar. The music is wonderful although they are not mass numbers but they do mix well with the theme of the movie.

Actingwise Katrina Kaif and Farhaan Akhtar are a treat as they are evolving better with each movie. Hrithik, Abhay and Kalki are superb as always. Naseerudin Shah and Deepti Naval in a brief role have done a very good job. On the whole ZNMD is a must see for every person to understand how life is more meaningful and colorful and how every moment and every minute is worth living because you don't know if you can ever live those moments again.