What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:
*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*
Movies
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011)
The last time I watched a Bollywood film was around this time last year, and this film has been on my watchlist since it came out nearly a decade ago. As a general rule, I tend to avoid melodramatic Indian cinema (the irony of course being that I almost exclusively watch musicals and k-dramas). However, this film had always been recommended to me as one of those movies that breaks the typical mold of Bollywood blockbusters, so I had high expectations.
Perhaps because the film was released in 2011, I found the character types quite conventional. ZNMD deals largely with people who don’t do what makes them happy, but rather only do what is expected of them. Arjun (Hrithik Roshan) is stuck in to his work life to the extent that he doesn’t know how to enjoy the lifestyle he’s earned as a result. Kabir (Abhay Deol) is so caught up in how others perceive him that he’s afraid to speak his mind. Finally, Imraan (Farhan Akhtar) doesn’t know when a joke stops being a joke and even hurts his own friend when he takes his free-spirit attitude too far.
None of them were particularly sympathetic in my eyes for a large part of the film, and I found myself questioning why I should care enough to keep watching. Although they did develop them over the course of the film, it felt rather artificial, almost as though the writer were given a template for character growth and followed the steps in that order.
The visuals of the film, on the other hand, were breathtaking. This is where the film shines, and Zoya Akhtar clearly took full advantage of the landscapes she had to work with. With the current limitations in travel, it felt like I got to take a trip, living vicariously through the film. The films lighting and coloring in particular really set the tone and the mood of the film, lending an air of warmth to the scenery.
While I know what the film was trying to achieve in showing that it’s okay to live life to the fullest for yourself, and not for others, it was in the execution that found the film lacking. Akhtar’s more recent films are definitely more subtle and natural in their messaging, but perhaps this is just from having more experience over the years. The climax of the film fell flat for me, despite the grand epiphanies of the main characters.
Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe it’s been too long since the release for ZNMD to feel relatable anymore, but I found that I didn’t enjoy the film as much as I should have. I might revisit it in the future to see if my opinion has changed, but unfortunately it didn’t live up to the hype.
Colourful Granny 