Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara review

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin

Directed by Zoya Akhtar

Rating: ***

Films dealing with life-altering epiphanies are always shot in stunning locations. And Hindi films dealing with the same, need a stunning cast as well. A possible rationale: beautiful places relieve stress and bring things into perspective. And beautiful people experiencing divine realizations can hold your perspective on the screen, often resulting in a 'ka-ching' sound at the box office. 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' (ZNMD) is one such film.

In true 'Hangover' meets Vikas-Krishna-Barcelona spirit, the film deals with a bachelor adventure marinated with stories of finding, losing and forgetting love. Kabir (Abhay Deol), an affluent construction tycoon is about to take the marital plunge. But not before he completes a much-postponed trip with school buddies, investment banker (and constantly grumpy) Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) and freestyle flirt Imraan (Farhan Akhtar).

So, the boys with biceps shoot off to Spain, a land where sunny means a summery glow and not sweaty and stinky, much like an AC studio in Mahalaxmi. Now, the deal is that each would pick a secret adventure sport and the others would have to join him at it.

The problem arises when Kabir's fiancé, poisonously possessive Natasha (Kalki Koechlin) lands up in Spain suspecting a wild orgy (don't get your hopes up, there aren't any). Soon, Kabir takes over as grumpy and Arjun finds hope underwater, as spunky skiing instructor Laila (Katrina Kaif) shows him corals and also offers morals like 'seize the day' and 'live in the moment for you could die tomorrow'. These prophetic pearls of wisdom (from the rough draft of Guzaarish 2?) pierce through Kabir and he realizes how he cherishes things besides money. On Arjun's exaggerated revelations, Imraan remarks, "Ek hi dubki mein zindagi ke saarein raaz khul gaye? Tujhe toh underwater hi rehna chahiye." But then Imraan only spends his screen presence saying and doing things that would be considered unacceptable or just down-right silly in adult society.

The film isn't as simplistic as it seems and each character has a back story and internal conflicts that surface intermittently between thrill-seeking stunts, sugary love, drunk talking and some seriously childish pranks. What is aesthetic in this film apart from the charming Spanish countryside is that scenes which would usually be served with heightened melodrama are quite well contained and subtle, yet convey the emotion.

The music is hummable but the choreography usually finds Abay Deol playing the part of 'Senorita'. Farhan's comic timing is immaculate but his shayari is cocaine-infused and like a soft murmuring background score it could lull you to sleep. Kalki is deliciously annoying as her character required her to be and Katrina's performance doesn't make or break this film. The film's overall humour quotient is not very high and is mostly situational and there are usually more people laughing on the screen than in the audience.

In a tasteful manner, ZNMD has managed to do for Spain, what 'Dil Chahta Hai' did for Goa, beautifully selling the beaches, babes, tomatoes, tortillas and thrilling adventure sports. Spaniards should only be cautious that this tourism AV doesn't do to their country what the malls did to the mills of Lower Parel. Do I hear McTacos?

Shaitan movie review – A multi-emotion flick

 First time producer Anurag Kashyap has come up with a thriller with some elements of quirkiness, wildness and violence. The movie gives a glimpse of the youngsters, who believe living their life to the fullest.

The cast of the movie includes Kalki Koechlin, Rajeev Khandelwal, Shiv Pandit, Gulshan Devaiya, Kirti Kulhari and Neil Bhoopalam. The story of ‘Shaitan‘ revolves around a group of youngsters, who do not care about the rest of the world but are bothered about their own enjoyment.

The twist comes when the youngsters get involved in a tricky situation, which is a result of their own deeds. Director Bejoy Nambiar has made sure to add the right amount of emotions to the story due to which nothing has been overdone and is balanced.

The debutantes Shiv Pandit and Kirti Kulhari are fresh and have managed to convince the audience with their acting abilities. Besides, Kalki and Rajeev too have taken their roles seriously. From the direction to the cinematography to the dialogues, every thing in the movie seems like carved and presented. The concept of the movie may be new for the Indian audience.

So do we recommend Shaitan? The movie is a must watch for those who love edginess and thrill and that means, age no bar here.

Hrithik turns choreographer

When it comes to dancing, no one can match up to Hrithik Roshan. The actor actually choreographed the ‘Khwabon Ke Parindey’ from the film ‘Zindagi na Milegi Dobara’. Not only that, the director Zoya Akhtar handed over the reigns to her brother Farhan for the song who was glad to go behind the camera for a change.

The song has Hrithik singing about freedom and breaking away from the drudgery of life, so Zoya insisted that the boys do more than just act. The boys landed up at the sets an planned the song. Though Zoya was a little skeptical about the whole thing, she was thrilled to see the end result.

The film is about a bachelor trip taken by three friends and how their life changes after the journey.