‘People thought Hrithik, Farhan, Abhay’s characters died in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’: Zoya Akhtar on why she had to add end credit song in film

Zoya Akhtar said the end credit song "Sooraj Ki Baaho Mein" was a last-minute addition, as the film's climax didn't land well with the test screening audience.

, Zoya Akhtar talks about the climax of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. (Photo: Screengrab)

The irony of cinema is, Zoya Akhtar originally ended her 2011 adventure drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara on a euphoric note of liberation with a poem about being alive — except, many people thought the three main characters were dead.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara featured Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol, three childhood friends who go on a life changing road trip. Zoya Akhtar said the end credit song “Sooraj Ki Baaho Mein” was a last-minute addition, as the film’s original end–three boys running in front of bulls and towards the camera–didn’t land well with co-producer Ritesh Sidhwani and even the test screening audience.

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In a clip shared on Reddit, Zoya said the film ended for her when the boys were running and the poem “Toh Zinda Ho Tum” starts playing in the background.

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“But Ritesh was like, ‘You have to give it an end’. I was like, ‘This is the end.’ Then we had focus screenings, people came out and asked us if they were dead! I was like are you kidding me! A lot of people were like, ‘Did they die? What happened?’ I was like, is this a joke!”

Zoya on ZNMD ending
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The filmmaker said she had to shoot a new song and put it in the film as the end credit track, so that people know they are not dead. “I was like, ‘Can we write ‘For Stupid People” (before the song). I was of course told no I can’t put it up. So that end changed. You can’t leave open ends in Indian commercial cinema,” she added.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was a major box office hit and stands as the biggest film of Zoya to date. For years, there have been conversations and rumours about a possible sequel of the film, however nothing concreate has ever materialised.

Zoya is currently awaiting the release of her Netflix film The Archies. The musical is set to release on December 7.

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Earlier, the Supreme Court directed the Delhi Government, civic bodies, and authorities of Noida, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad to pick up stray dogs and move them to shelters. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)

Supreme Court reserves order on stray dogs matter, pulls up civic body for lack of action

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The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on the interim prayer seeking a stay on August 11 order of picking up strays from streets in Delhi NCR. The case was heard by a three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria.

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