Zoya Akhtar’s road trip film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which stars Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin and Spanish actress Adriana Cabrol, was partially filmed on location in Spain. While they were there one of the cool scenes they did was to recreate the Tomatina Festival. In fact the crew and actors got down right dirty because the festival includes smearing and throwing crushed tomatoes at each other. The actual event, which is usually held on the last Wednesday of August every year, starts with a tall pole which is greased up and a piece of ham is tied to the top of it. The start of the tomato frenzy begins when someone is successfully able to drop the ham. A loud shot marks the commencement of the event and then after exactly an hour another shot is rung to signal the end. Fire trucks come in to wash the cobblestone streets of Bunyol which are now disinfected due to the acidity of the tomato.
Zoya Akhtar told IBNlive, “Tomatina in Spain is a festival closest to our Holi. They play with tomatoes and the world turns red for the day. The energy is infectious and the scene is a visual treat. We had a blast shooting this sequence but it was not all rosy. It was a logistical nightmare for the producer. We shot in the same location where the festival actually takes place and we had to shut the town down. The residents of Bunyol were extremely sweet and in turn they celebrated Tomatina twice last year…once for Spain and once for India.”
“To recreate the Tomatina festival and make it look authentic, we had to call for some 16 tonnes of tomatoes from Portugal as the tomatoes in Spain were not ripe. For the scene, 24 tonnes of tomato puree was used,” added Producer Riteish Sidwani.
One of the stars Katrina Kaif said it was a lot of fun, “I had only heard about it but now I got to experience it. The ritual brings in good luck. People from all over the world come to witness it. I had a lot of fun,” says Katrina Kaif.
The movie is a story of three boys who are from well-to-do backgrounds that take on a trip through Europe. It’s a story of their journey and friendship. “Since the boys belong to affluent families we decided to explore these locales as a road trip,” says Riteish Sidwani. Talking about his role in the movie Farhan said in an earlier interview,” I play this guy who for the longest time takes nothing seriously. I am not even rich and I don’t pretend to be. I am just happy being the way I am. I got to just let my hair down. Many moments in the film gave me a chance to have lots of fun. In ZNMD I play a fun character.” Most of the movie will be shot in various locations in Spain, Thailand, India, Turkey, England and Greece. Farhan, Hrithik and Abhay have also added a new layer because the sing for a party song sequence in the movie.
The movie is all set to release on June 24th this year and we cannot wait to see it.
Check out these fun filled snaps from the sets of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
