Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Reviews

User Ratings (4 out of 5)

Critics: (4 out of 5)

Some movie experiences can be summed up in a few lines. Others can take longer. This one would be hard to define. And to try to slot it or give it shape in any other form but the visual would take some doing.

The witticism, of course, flows. With Farhan Akhtar around, what else can we expect? But the spoken lines (a brilliant fusion of the colloquial and existential) are so doggedly wedded to the visuals that we come away with a complete and satisfying cinematic experience, so replete with life's most luscious home-truths that we want to carry the plot's bumper-sticker wisdom in our hearts forever.

Farhan Akhtar did it ten years ago, in "Dil Chahta Hai". He got three friends on the threshold of a career on a road-trip and let them come to terms with their own weaknesses and insecurities, even as Farhan, that wily filmmaker, discovered his own strengths as a storyteller.

Now it's Farhan's sister Zoya Akhtar's turn to take that road trip. Some day we need to figure out the Akhtar siblings' affinity to films about three male friends on a journey to self-discovery. Suffice it to say that "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" (ZNMD) takes the theme of male bonding to a more illuminating plane than "Dil Chahta Hai".

As the workaholic money-obsessed stockbroker (Hrithik Roshan), the happy-go-looking-for-his-dad prankster (Farhan Akhtar) and the about-to-be-married-nice-guy (Abhay Deol) set out on trip through locationally lush Spain (ummm, full marks for seductive eyecandy visuals) we follow right behind.

Without trying to set up dramatic road-blocks and U-turns in the road journey, Zoya Akhtar gets us so involved in the drama and adventure of the threesome we gradually forget the actors and see only the characters that they so fluently and robustly play.

Oh yes, the ladies take the backseat. Nonetheless Katrina Kaif's Laila, a gorgeous diving instructor who teaches Hrithik to dive into soul, makes such graceful space for herself among the boys that we wonder how she managed to make herself heard in a film that celebrates the spirit of male bonding in all its robust colour splendour and noise.

Oh yes, we forgot! This guys' film is directed by a woman! The feminine touch is nowhere evident in Zoya Akhtar's direction. She leaves you wondering if delicacy femininity and the opposite of a snobbish misogyny that our desi female directors have been seen to follow, vanished while we were not looking.

ZNMD is a coming-of- age film on many levels. It celebrates the sheer beauty and physicality of location and their deep connection to the characters' state of mind, without apology or explanation. Trust me. I looked. I couldn't spot even one unpleasant face or topogrphy in the entire length and breath of this beautiful film.

Yes, the surface is lovely. But so is the soul. Zoya, God bless her aesthetics, sucks us into the beauty of the moment, not giving us any reason to believe that life's most precious truths are swathed in squalor. ZNMD celebrates splendour. Underwater or up in the air thousands of feet above sea level, the moments of tenderness are not stapled into the climate of camaraderie. They just happen.

The moment when Hrithik discovers love under the stars with Katrina, or when Farhan Akhtar finally meets his biological father (Naseeruddin Shah, in a naturally compelling cameo) or that breathtakingly blistered moment of reckoning when after a bout of male backslapping in the initial episodes, we suddenly realize the cause for friction in the Hrithik-Farhan friendship… These are masterstrokes of muted drama not written in to impress, but simply as an integral part of that journey which we undertake so enthusiastically and willingly with the threesome.

Technically the film wears its art on its sleeve. Carlos Catalan's cinematography captures the pain and the fun in Spain without letting the touristic urge take over. Yeah, the film looks fetching. But not at the cost of the characters' search for bearings in a world that mocks at the beauty of Nature. Editor Anand Subaya doesn't cut the film. He carves the material in shapes that a jeweller would probably like to imitate if he only knew how.

Every actor seems to the character born. Hrithik's stuffed-shirt act would have been almost self-parodic were it not so sincere. Abhay Deol is a natural-born reactor. But it's Farhan Akhtar who steals the best role, lines and moments. He is in his element and the character that evolves in the course of the journey. Oh yes, he gets to mouth his father Javed Akhtar's evocative poetry.

Katrina Kaif's Laila is a kind of synthesis of mystique and sincerity that we had seen long ago in Leela Naidu. This film marks the coming-of-age of the Kaif. Kalki in a relatively brief role brings a kind of snide cuteness to the proceedings. Her character is sometimes the brunt of ridicule. She takes it in her stride.

Every major character at some point, appears ridiculous. That's the beauty of the askew world that Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's script tries to make sense with doses of humour and warmth.

Subhash K. Jha

Movie Reviews with Ratings of the Hindi Film - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) from all the popular movie critics.
 Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin
 Director: Zoya Akhtar
 
 Rajeev Masand, CNN IBN: 3.5/5
 'ZNMD' shows that boys will be boys ... CNN IBN Complete review
 
 Mayank Shekhar, Hindustan Times: 4/5
 What you take home are memorable, amusing moments of three truly adventurous amigos we've all grown up with ... Hindustan Times Complete review
 
 Naresh Deoshi, ApunkaChoice.com: 3.5/5
 ZNMD is one of its kind ... ApunKaChoice Complete review
 
 Spicezee Bureau, Zee News: 4/5
 ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ celebrates life! ... Zee News Complete review
 
 Mumbai Mirror: 1/5
 ZNMD is thirty minutes too long, predictable, and is nowhere near as good as Zoya Akhtar’s debut film ... Mumbai Mirror Complete review
 
 Shubha Shetty-Saha, Mid-Day.com: 2.5/5
 A pretty, very pretty film. If only it had more soul ... Mid-Day Complete review
 
 Rachit Gupta, Filmfare.com
 Fantastic but arty ... Filmfare Complete review
 
 Shubhra Gupta, Indian Express: 2/5
 ZNMD is a well-shot road trip, which strings together a series of pretty picture card snapshots, whose characters do not spark or crackle except in stray moments ... Indian Express Complete review
 
 
 Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV: 3/5
 Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara does exude pronounced traces of the spirit of Dil Chahta Hai, but its essential rhythm is its own ... NDTV Movies Complete review
 
 Taran Adarsh, BollywoodHungama.com: 3.5/5
 It's a film for a more evolved, mature and cinema-literate audience that's geared up to embrace and support newer genres of cinema ... BollywoodHungama Complete review
 
 Komal Nahta, ETC & Koimoi.com: 2/5
 Watch it for the performaces and the visual appeal ... Koimoi Complete review
 
 Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India: 3.5/5
 Smart road movie ... Times of India Complete review
 
 Sonia Chopra, Sify.com: 3.5/5
 Enormously entertaining! ... Sify Complete review
 
 Shaikh Ayaz, Rediff.com: 3.5/5
 Zoya Akhtar has put together a familiar plot but the film's fresh energy is entertaining ... Rediff Complete review
 
 MovieTalkies.com: 4/5
 'Zindagi' Is Refreshingly Realistic ... MovieTalkies Complete review
 
 Pankaj Sabnani, GlamSham.com: 4/5
 Watch ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA to fall in love with zindagi (life) all over again! ... GlamSham Complete review
 
 Kaveree Bamzai, India Today: 4/5
 A bromance that has more style and heat than most rubish romcoms ... India Today Complete review
 
 Mansha Rastogi, NowRunning.com: 3/5
 Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is an experience to be enjoyed only once, not Dobara ... NowRunning Complete review
 
 Blessy Chettiar, DNA India: 3/5
 Go catch ZNMD for good performances, music, Spain and of course, Farhan Akhtar in his element ... DNA India Complete review