Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Starring: Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin
Directed by Zoya Akhtar
Rating: **

acho man Hrithik Roshan is given a shockingly pink mobile by his friend Farhan Akhtar and then ragged for “touching his feminine side”. In another scene, Hrithik is shown deep in love, feeling the wind on his face as the vehicle speeds along. A female voice croons in the background while Hrithik sports expressions typical of a “woman in love”, an affected look we are more accustomed to seeing on our heroines’ faces. When the song ends, a delicate Katrina Kaif, Hrithik’s mobike-riding ladylove, smothers him with a determined kiss. And so, filmmaker Zoya Akhtar manages to effectively overhaul gender roles and expectations.

But for every scene like this in ZNMD, there are five others which grate. The film, in effect, turns out rather long, lumbering and clumsily structured. Moreover, every character and relationship seems to hark back to Dil Chahta Hai. Even the dilemmas, guilt, misunderstandings, secrets, reconciliations, revelations come with a huge DCH hangover. However, ZNMD is more wearisome and lacks DCH’s tone and its instant connect.

What’s changed in the 10 odd years separating the two films is that the three south Mumbai guys of DCH are global citizens in ZNMD and travel to Spain (not Goa) for some soul-searching. But the life-altering moments, though beautifully shot and realised, feel more facile than profound. As does the poetry that gets recited throughout the film. The underlying philosophy is the “chicken soup for the soul” variety that can be easily gleaned from self-help books. Finding yourself while sky- and deep sea-diving or bullfighting might sound appealing (and look picturesque), but is simply too convenient.

The star charm and smart lines work. The naak kata di group ki, koshish karna hamara kartavya hai dialogues elicit smiles. But the cleverness turns too over-the-top with the rather juvenile “the buoy, the mental” jokes. Perhaps ZNMD would have worked better if the protagonists (and the actors) had been a lot younger.