Some films don’t age and ZNMD ,directed by Zoya Akhtar and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under Excel Entertainment and co-written by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, certainly doesn’t seem to have grown a day older. The film also motivated quite a large number of the people to go on road trips, that includes some known actors as well.
I remember Dulquer Salmaan telling me how his entire family went on a road trip that was pretty memorable, with his superstar dad Mamooty and himself at the wheel as they charted out the same route the protagonists of the film did too. Here is a pictoral tribute to the film that shook off thee very core of ennui and mundane life and made us relook at life anew.
Here is what Excel Movies put out today
Here is what Netflix tweeted today
Happy Anniversary to the film that taught us all we know about friendship, love and Spanish Paellas ❤️#10YearsOfZNMD pic.twitter.com/Fer0UTPETo
— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) July 15, 2021
And Hrithik Roshan tweeted
With Kalki, Katrina, Farhan, Abhay, Me, Zoya, Reema.. everybody was in it together and in equal percentage. We were equals.. and that for me was very special. #HrithikRoshan #KatrinaKaif #ZNMD pic.twitter.com/wVzPE2lJhO
— HrithikRules.com (@HrithikRules) July 15, 2021
“I want to do a sequel to ZNMD, I have told Zoya. All of us want it. It should pick up from where it left. She (Zoya) says it’s a good idea; I hope she does it,” said Katrina Kaif in an interview. In her zoom interaction with the cast and crew of ZNMD, she admits the women characters like Laila might intimidate people in real life and that is why you don’t usually see them onscreen. She is bold and confident and isn’t ‘needy.’ In the film, Katrina plays the role of Laila, a diving instructor, who falls in love with Hrithik Roshan’s character Arjun.
.“I was actually so relieved that I won’t have to do all such things”,Kalki said in an interview. “Main kitni darpok hoon woh kisi ko maloom nahi hai. I can’t do sky diving and all. Hrithik and other boys are so brave that they can jump from the sky; I can’t even imagine doing anything like this.” Unlike Katrina who had her share of fun with scuba diving, she couldn’t participate in the water sports. “Yeah, now that’s something that I would have enjoyed. I wanted to go deep into the sea. I envy Katrina,I wasn’t as lucky. Anyway,I guess I would compensate for that in my honeymoon”,said Kalki.
Abhay Deol shared a still from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which features himself with Hrithik Roshan and Farhan Akhtar sitting in a car. “I’m ready for another trip like this one. 2021 better be better! #restless #roadtrip (sic),” he captioned the photo.
He recollected a moment when Hrithik parked a car with him and Farhan sitting in the backseat, but forgot to pull the handbrake. The car slowly began to slide down towards a gorge, before Hrithik leapt back in and stopped it. In the video he shared, Farhan could be seen jumping out of the back seat.
Ten years have passed since the film and tourism to Spain rocketed. The year after its release, 60,444 Indians visited Spain, nearly double the 2011 figure, according to the industry and tourism ministry. In 2012, 85,000 Indians visited Spain. Lonely Planet in 2013 launched a guide to Spain aimed specifically at the Indian market and travel agencies still advertise tours to the locations featured in the “Zindagi” movie. India’s ambassador to Spain, Vikram Misri, said then that the film “was singlehandedly responsible for making Spain a household name in India and increasing tourism from India”.
With travel restrictions today, ZNMD is a great watch today too, to virtually escape into the expanse of the waters of Costa Brava, Girona, Catalonia, (Scuba Diving), Buñol, Valencia, Comunidad Valenciana and the spot of La Tomatina, Andalusia for sky diving and to race with the bulls in Pamplona.