From a normal audience’s point of view, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was a movie about three friends taking a road trip in Spain. Over a decade, it attained cult status because the audience could see and relate to the complexities of the characters played by Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol. As the movie turned a decade old, the actor shared some fond memories.
Abhay regarding the movie was heard saying, “I remember this scene in ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ really well. So, there was Zoya and Farhan’s teacher in Maneckji, who couldn’t say ‘boy’, he would ‘buoy’ and ‘mantal’ and they would make fun of him. Zoya was like that’s where it comes from, this is sort of like taking the piss out of our teacher. I was like, ‘why are you giving it to me?! I’m not the Maneckji kid’.”
Deol further narrated, “So I think the irony of this scene was that I didn’t actually hear the man say it the way he did. This scene just kind of became iconic of the movie, ‘the buoys, the mantal buoys’, much bigger than I imagined it would go, this particular part. I was so happy that people responded to it cause I was like, ‘I’m gonna ruin their teacher and this is all wrong’, oh well, Zoya seems happy, she was laughing.”
About Hrithik almost ‘killing’ them, Abhay went on to say, “I also remember before shooting this scene, Hrithik almost killed me and Farhan. How he did that was, he was behind the driver’s seat and he drove the car into this corner to park it, on the side, for the background of the shot and forgot to switch the car off! Just opens the door and walks out of it and then suddenly jumps back in cause the car started going forward to go down the hill.”
Meanwhile, when asked what his impression of ZNMD co-star Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai, Hrithik revealed that he was shell shocked by it. He said, “I remember when Dil Chahta Hai came out, I was absolutely stunned because Farhan was my age. I suddenly wanted to know his journey, what books he has read, what influences he has had, what his stimulus is because I was totally shell-shocked with DCH.”
The actor added that Farhan and Zoya’s life experiences have shaped them to be strong individuals and thus make such impactful cinema. “I felt instantly insignificant when I saw that film. My respect for Farhan went up sky-high. I was deeply impacted by the film. It had its own language. I think somewhere both Zoya and Farhan are such strong individuals, maybe it’s the journey that they had as children, the parenting that they had, or the influences that they had created such a strong sense of individuality in both of them. That’s absolutely amazing. It is the kind of individuality and strength of character that I want to inculcate in my kids and myself.”
Director Zoya took to Instagram to reminisce one of the film’s most memorable elements, the blue car. Sharing a photo of the same, she wrote, “Time To Take The Car Out Again #znmd #10years #blueconvertible #spanishsky #ontheroad #onlyhappymemories #wheredidthetimego Thank You to the best Cast and Crew EVAH!”
To which Hrithik commented on the same and said, “Hahaha yeah baby!” While Karan Johar said, “What a beautiful film Zo!! One of my all time favourites.”
