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Z: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara #AToZChallenge


Movie Name: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Language: Hindi
Genre: Drama/Road Film
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deal, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Year Of Release: 2011

What it is about:


Arjun, Kabir and Imran are childhood friends and thanks to a long-standing pact, they set out on a road trip to Spain, with each choosing a surprise adventure trip for them. Arjun is a workaholic chasing money, and this hampers his chance at relationships and friendships. Kabir is a rich kid, all set to tie the knot with Natasha, his girlfriend and another rich kid. But, he is not entirely sure if he wants to get married, and this trip is his bachelors party. Imran, is a nonchalant romeo kinda guy, but is battling a secret within him that is linked to this very trip. When the first adventure turns out to be Kabir's choice of deep sea diving, Laila comes to train them. With Arjun suffering from aquaphobia, Laila helps him overcome his fear. Imran starts flirting with Laila much to Arjun's chagrin, but Laila has eyes only for Arjun. They all become good friends.

When Natasha sees Laila on Kabir's webcam, she becomes insecure and gate-crashes the bachelor party, making Kabir look and feel awkward in front of his friends. Imran meets Nuria, Laila's friend and starts flirting with her. He seems to be really interested in an artist Salman Habib and goes and visits his gallery. The next adventure is Arjun's choice of skydiving, and this helps Imran get over his acrophobia. When an incident lands the three of them in jail, Imran calls Salman Habib to bail them out and this brings out the truth about Salman and Imraan. The third and final adventure turns out to be Imran's choice of running with the bulls in Pamplona. This looks terribly dangerous and Arjun and Kabir are hesitant to be a part of it. Soon, all the three friends look back at their lives so far and contemplate on the changes they need to make. Starting with the bull run.

While standing at the starting point of the race, they make another pact to make a promise if they survive this adventure. Each friend decides on what they want to do the most and begin the run.

What I loved about it:

Zoya Akhtar is a fantastic filmmaker and I love her stories and screenplay. She brings a certain soul and authenticity to her movies and I did like her debut movie 'Luck By Chance' too. This movie has a really good looking cast and beautiful locations, making it one of the best looking movies ever. But this doesn't take the story away from it. Hrithik is really good as the introvert and slightly arrogant Arjun. Abhay Deol is the perfect Kabir, with his goofiness and confused decision making skills. Farhan is brilliant as Imran and it just feels like an extension of his real persona. Katrina as Laila is a bit too enthusiastic about everything around her, but somehow blends in. Kalki as the snooty Natasha does a good job, genuinely looking out of place. Naseeruddin Shah steals the show in a brilliant cameo, that starts from the minute he says a "Hello" on the other end of the phone.


This movie is not a coming of age movie like Farhan's debut directorial 'Dil Chahta Hai', but it does live up to its title. We all have just one life, what's the point if we're not living it the way we want to. It makes us sit back and look at what we have done, what we are doing, and what we genuinely want to do. It makes us look closer into our lives and within ourselves. And it shows us why it is not a bad thing.

Runners-up: None.

This post is a part of the A To Z Challenge for April, where my theme for this year is Movies I Love.


With this, I end the A to Z challenge for 2018. This was my fifth consecutive year of taking up this challenge and although it was very hectic, the feeling of completing it, is quite awesome. You know, we are often limited by what we think we cannot do. During the first week, I almost gave up on this challenge as I was terribly consumed by work and my daily household chores. I barely had time for writing anything and I just couldn't take it anymore. Still, not wanting to give up something that I had started, I persisted. And today, here we are. Trust me, persistence is a good thing. It pushes you do more than you have ever imagined. Set a goal and never give up. After all, we only get one life to live.

Comments

  1. Oh, this one is my favourite! I can watch it again and again. It's amazing how everyone is so good in their characters, equally lovable.

    I feel like travelling with them. :)

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    1. Same here! Everything about this movie was so good.

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  2. My favourite film!
    And, I am glad you did not give up midway, Soumya! We wouldn't have gotten a chance to bond over films! :)
    Congratulations on completing the challenge!

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  3. I love this movie for the challenges these men faced which were of the personal nature; our ghosts haunt us wherever we go till we face them!
    Congrats on completing yet another brilliant challenge Soumya- 5th!!!!!!!!! WHOA! You are a serisou veteran ;-)

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    1. Hahaha veteran, yes :P

      Thank you! Congrats to you too. Loved your theme this year :)

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  4. An absolute favourite of mine. I loved the bond of friendship, the lines spoken by Katrina and of course Farhans sense of humor. A perfect movie to watch at any time!

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  5. I do not watch many movies but this is one movie that I watched and loved! The characters, the story and the setting all made me love the movie.
    Congratulations on completing the challenge. I can understand how you feel. There were times when I felt like giving it up too!

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    1. This one makes everyone feel good.

      Thank you, Reema! Congrats to you too on completing it successfully.

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  6. Aha! This is my absolute favourite and I dont know how many times I have seen this movie. Such wonderful life lessons in this one!
    I am going to make a list in my note-pad of all the movies that I have to watch from your AtoZ series. You have given me some major movie watching goals. Thanks for sharing some fabulous movies this April and thanks for your support too ♥

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    1. I can watch this anytime :)

      Thank you so much for all the support and love, Shilpa. I enjoyed reading your posts and those tips on travel I'll always remember.

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