The Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara movie has been selling the Yolo dream to millennials who can’t afford to travel to Spain, since 2011. No matter how many times you watch the zindagi na milegi dobara full movie, you can’t stop feeling warm and fuzzy. Its like you’ve attained Nirvana each time just like Hrithik when he dived out of that underwater cave. Have you seen the zindagi na milegi dobara 2 teaser yet? Also, check out the photo shared by Priyanka Chopra from the upcoming ‘Jee Le Zaraa‘. Here’s a quick look:
Did someone say road trip? #JeeLeZaraa @priyankachopra #KatrinaKaif @aliaa08 @FarOutAkhtar #ZoyaAkhtar @kagtireema @ritesh_sid @tigerbabyfilms @chaimettoast pic.twitter.com/OOnP5m9xCi
— Excel Entertainment (@excelmovies) August 10, 2021
A shero among heroes
ZNMD has a lot of heroes. Of course, there’s the indisputable Arjun. There’s also the almost sickeningly charming Imran. And finally, there’s the sweetest, nicest hero Kabir. (Although Abhay Deol did say that he felt overshadowed by Farhan and Hrithik). Kalki is also a hero in her own right. However, none of them came any close to successfully championing their own problems. Let alone saving the day for someone else. In fact, they came off as a bunch of clueless losers. They were seen grappling with their miseries like headless chickens throughout the movie.
Laila was easily the smartest person in the room, every time, with her quiet observation. She could easily see past the other person’s weaknesses. And could get a read on anybody’s personality, even Imran’s. This is probably why she stayed calm even when he behaved like a total creep and made a complete fool of himself around her. Here are 10 reasons why we think Katrina Kaif’s ‘Laila’ is the real hero of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara:
1. She helped Arjun overcome his underwater phobia like a pro:
We saw Arjun brooding over a puddle of water. And we completely sympathize with his phobia for the deep blue and the fact that he couldn’t swim. But Laila effortlessly helped him get over his fear. She had a reassuring tone when she said, ‘It’s ok, doesn’t matter. You’ll be fine’ to Arjun when Imran told her that Arjun couldn’t swim. And let’s not forget the zen-like way in which she kept Arjun calm. She kept bringing his attention back from the panic of being unable to breathe underwater. She successfully got him to stop panicking and overcome his anxiety.
2. She instantly recognized Arjun’s workaholic issues:
Laila read Arjun like a book and instantly realized that money was a major trigger in his life. It took her just a single conversation when she asked him the question with genuine concern ‘Would you marry for money?’. She would have given his therapist a run for their money. Laila zeroed in on the root cause for all of Arjun’s life problems – the obsession with money. Meanwhile, his clueless, dumb friends cowered before his anger and arrogance issues.
Laila expertly probed Arjun with the right questions one after the other. She hit the nail on the head when he revealed that his ex-girlfriend wanted different things out of life. She put two and two together to realize that he was a stuck-up little thing with his life priorities all askew. Laila could look past Arjun’s messed-up personality deep into his soul to see how vulnerable he really was.
3. She predicted ‘Your life is about to change’ and it did:
Laila took the boys on a mesmerizing dive into an underwater cave. Only a real hero would give someone else a magical experience like that. She did indeed change Arjun’s life. He went through a life-transforming moment where the utter futility of his high-stress money printing job became evident and its lure died away. Also, all the pent-up, crippling anxiety from living like a factory robot finally came to the fore. And he shed tears after resurfacing from the water. Laila completely understood what he was going through.
4. Laila was nice to Natasha and couldn’t read her animosity towards her:
When Kabir introduces Laila to Natasha on video call, Natasha instantly hates the fact that she’s in his bedroom. She also wasn’t very warm while greeting Laila and was curt in her responses. But Laila being the Goddess she is had no clue about her animosity and was just her chirpy, nice self, being warm and friendly.
5. She was offended when Arjun described diving as ‘Nasha’ or an addiction:
Laila is an intelligent woman with a beautiful soul and a pure heart. She took offense when Arjun described diving as addictive and specifically a ‘Nasha’. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at it and replied, ‘Nasha? Don’t call it Nasha. It’s such a negative word.’ She went on to aptly describe diving as a kind of ‘meditation’. She compared the two experiences by saying that both the diver and the meditator become aware of their every breath and movement. She shows that she has figured life out completely when she says, ‘Imagine if we could live our entire lives like that. Be fully alive at each and every moment’.
6. Laila couldn’t understand why it wasn’t ok for Natasha to turn up at her fiance’s Bachelor trip:
When Natasha sneakily turned up at the Bachelor trip to spy on her fiance Kabir, his friends were shocked. But Laila being the hero she was, couldn’t understand why it wasn’t ok for her to come. Arjun explained that your fiance couldn’t come to your bachelor’s and that that was the only rule. Laila was surprised at how they followed stupid rules.
7. She was surprised that Natasha hated her:
Laila is a nice person, a man among men. She had a clean heart and always saw the bright side of things. In fact, she was rarely aware of negative feelings like hatred, and jealousy. This is why she was genuinely surprised when Imran revealed that Natasha hated her. Despite Natasha being openly jealous and mean to her, Laila spoke in favor of her and never harbored the slightest ill-feeling back.
8. She gave Arjun a life lesson in ‘Happiness’
Laila had many pearls of wisdom to share with Arjun on their “walk” together. She told him how a guy who had only 3 weeks off from work a year couldn’t be anybody’s type. And that he was a slave. Laila also said that a guy who only thought about his career was a bore. She also explained that she wasn’t judging Arjun but merely asking him whether he got happiness from making money. Laila expertly brought out his childhood trauma like a psychologist. When he revealed the story of his mom’s struggle with debt, it shed light on his workaholic behavior. She explained that he couldn’t shed tears when receiving a paycheck as he did on the dive. Laila also asked Arjun whether he was happy after achieving so much. She asked him to make time for things that made him happy.
When Arjun countered with his ridiculous “plan” of cooking after retiring at 40, she laughed and responded, “How do you know if you’ll be alive till 40?” She concluded her monologue with “Seize the day my friend. First, live this day to the fullest. Then you can think about 40′. She also gave him the experience of sleeping under the stars. Laila thought it was stupid of Arjun to give a flimsy reason of owning a home in London to not being able to ever do it before. She finally ended her life lessons for him with the gem, ‘A person should be inside in a box only when they’re dead’.
9. She made the first move:
As usual, Arjun turned out to be a disappointment and failed to express his feelings for Laila, even when they were parting ways. But she didn’t wait perpetually for him to make the first move like a jilted lover. She was overcome with love and emotion for him which is something she couldn’t contain. So she wasted no time biking to meet Arjun halfway and made the first move like a real man and a hero in the relationship. She kissed him first because her own self-expression was more important to her. That’s the mark of a true hero and we see it when she says that she doesn’t know how to live with regrets.
10. Laila showed up to reunite with Arjun without a second thought:
Laila was a person full of love and laughter. She doesn’t grapple with insecurities and grabs what she sets her heart on without the slightest hesitation. She doesn’t wait for the grass to grow. So she simply turned up to meet Arjun without waiting for him to correspond. In fact, her own feelings matter to her over the validation of others. That’s why she’s the real hero of ZNMD.
