On Road,in Reverse Gear

CAST: Hrithik Roshan,Abhay Deol,Farhan Akhtar,Katrina Kaif,Kalki Koechlin

Rating: **

A fancy convertible speeding down scenic roads. Three guys slouched artfully; one at the wheel,the other next to him,the third splayed across the backseat,feet sticking out,slumbering. What does this scene remind you of? Dil Chahta Hai. Of course. The film which iconised,for the first time in Bollywood,affluent young males doing nothing more strenuous than pushing buttons on a gaming console,bonding on loungers which cost more than a small car,in homes which cost more than a minor mall.

So why am I talking about Dil Chahta Hai,when I’m supposed to be telling you about Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,which is out 10 years after? Because it plays out the exact same scene for long minutes — there’s the long-finned car driving down gorgeous roads,and there are those loaded guys who travel only first class. Because the hangover of the former is overwhelming — look,look at all those cool and groovy people doing cool and groovy things.

The DCH boys were 20-somethings,in search of themselves. These are distinctly older professionals,doing ditto. And as opposed to those younger youths who made us care about them,these are constructed fellows we can pick up,examine,set down and move on. DCH was a film about a certain kind of privileged young,displaying a certain kind of privileged angst,but it spoke to us. ZNMD is a well-shot road trip,which strings together a series of pretty picture-card snapshots,whose characters do not spark or crackle except in stray moments.

ZNMD is designed as a feel-good bromance. Arjun (Roshan) is a broker with a plush three-bedroom house in London,who leads a frenetic deal-making,yen-and-pound-and-dollar-collecting life. Imran (Akhtar) is a copywriter who writes poetry. Kabir (Deol) is the scion of a construction tycoon,whose engagement to uptight interior designer Natasha (Koechlin) sets the three friends on a road trip to Spain.

Zoya Akhtar debuted with Luck By Chance,a delicious skewering of Bollywood,and its clannish innards. This is a disappointing second act. Farhan has done double duty on ZNMD,acting and writing. His Imran is impish to a nice degree,but you can only take so much of impishness in a presumably-going-on-adult male. The same goes for the other two: Hrithik Roshan loosens up with pretty diving instructor Laila (Kaif,strangely colourless),and shows us just how a star,a ripped Adonis with electric feet,can light up the screen,but goes no further; Deol is in one of his least outlined roles.

This could have been a DCH with a bite; it ends up being a good-looking but bland touristy delight.

shubhra.gupta@expressindia.com