Hindi
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara: An ordinary fare
 |
Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar. |
MUMBAI: Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a road movie at the end of which three men overcome their respective shortcomings and rediscover their own selves.
A trailer for the Spanish tourism board precedes the main feature and as the film unreels, you understand why. The film has been shot extensively in Spain and, in a sort of a barter, promotes Spain and its scenic locations; so far so good but, in the process, this road movie often goes off-track by giving priority to promotion of Spain rather than furthering its thin story line. And that is not the only time the film’s writer, director et al get their priorities wrong.
Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar are friends since school and are now well settled in their chosen fields. Some gentleman with a limited imagination claims the credit for dubbing the trio as Three Musketeers!
One of them, Abhay Deol, has decided to tie the knot and as per a pact they made long ago, they embark on their bachelor’s trip instead of the traditional bachelor’s party; the chosen location is Spain and soon Spain and its promotion become the lead players in the film. So much so that the message that emerges is that, “You need not go to Spain any more because it is all here in this film.”
Showcasing the picturesque country are the three lead actors amply aided by Katrina Kaif, a part time diving instructor, and as they proceed on their promote Spain tour, there is no story to tell; the three are meant to bond and have fun but most of the time, they are daggers drawn, trying to run each other down.
The banter between the three is mostly sarcastic; fun initially but one has enough of that after a while. Also, good lines are written mainly for Farhan Akhtar (by himself, of course) with the other two ending up with lame ones.
In fact, in this film with two actors with their own definite following, the lead role as it is called in film jargon, is played by Farhan Akhtar. His track of a father who deserted him even before he was born is totally out of sync with the theme of the film and if it was meant to justify his cynicism, viewers would have preferred he rather did not have it. What is his role? Is he depicting a sort of Javed Akhtar bio?
However, by the end of the film (eventually it had to end), the three friends have exorcised their respective ghosts; Abhay Deol wants out of the marriage he was rushing into, Hrithik Roshan has decided not to run after money and live it up and Farhan Akhtar realises that the one whose genes he carried did not matter as much as one who really gave him all the love and care a father would.
Considering the theme of the film, there is not much acting to do really, yet, Abhay Deol is the most restrained and likeable, Hrithik Roshan is okay while Farhan Akhtar is just about tolerable. Katrina Kaif is her usual syrupy self, adding glamour to the scene; in which case one wonders at the casting of Kalki Koechlin who is the odd one out here.
Naseeruddin Shah and Deepti Naval make fleeting appearances. Shot mostly outdoors, the photography is pleasant, making the film visually delightful. Dialogue is witty but the humour is often lost when it becomes more personal rather than involving the viewer.Musically, a couple of songs are watchable due to good choreography; tune wise not much. Direction is average with the lose script adding to the woes.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is an ordinary fare with nothing for single screen masses and very little for multiplex audience either. Having opened to below average response; it can only slide further in the days to follow.
Hindi
Jio Studios unveils AI-powered Krishna teaser at NAB Show 2026
Global first look of Krishna uses Galleri5 AI pipeline on Azure, Historyverse slate as Jio’s Dhurandhar crosses Rs 3,000cr worldwide.
MUMBAI: Krishna has just dropped a divine teaser and this time the gods are powered by silicon, not just scripture. Jio Studios and Collective Studios’ Historyverse stole the spotlight at the NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas with the world’s first teaser for their upcoming theatrical feature Krishna, directed by Manu Anand. The big reveal happened during Microsoft’s keynote “Powering Intelligent Media, From AI Experimentation to Real-World Impact,” where the film’s AI-native production pipeline took centre stage alongside Collective Artists Network’s in-house platform, Galleri5.
At the heart of this mythological spectacle lies a fresh cinematic workflow built by Galleri5 on Microsoft Azure’s advanced AI and cloud infrastructure. Forget bolting AI onto traditional VFX or animation, this is an end-to-end, production-grade system woven into every layer: world-building, character creation, shot design and final output. Yet the storytelling remains firmly director-led, emphasising emotional depth, stillness, music and performance rather than pure spectacle. The result? Large-format theatrical cinema rooted in Indian history and culture, but conceived in ways that were simply not possible before.
Collective Artists Network runs Galleri5 natively on Azure, leveraging Microsoft Foundry and cutting-edge AI tools to handle film, episodic and advertising workflows in a secure enterprise environment. Microsoft highlighted Collective as a “Frontier” organisation successfully moving AI from pilot projects to real production-scale deployment in cinema. The technology is also on display at Microsoft’s NAB booth in the West Hall (Booth W1731).
Jio Studios (Media & Content Business, Reliance Industries), president Jyoti Deshpande said the project advances the studio’s mission to take Indian stories global with scale, ambition and authenticity, “With Krishna, we are embracing cutting-edge AI-led filmmaking while democratising these tools to make them more accessible, intuitive and cost-effective for storytellers everywhere.”
Collective Artists Network founder & group CEO Vijay Subramaniam added, “We’re using technology developed in India to carry our culture and history to audiences worldwide at a scale never seen before.”
Microsoft, vice president for telco media & entertainment, gaming Silvia Candiani noted that the media industry has reached an inflection point, “AI is no longer about experimentation but delivering real impact at production scale… By building AI-native creative systems on Microsoft Azure, Collective exemplifies how storytellers can unlock new formats, move faster and realise a true return on intelligence while keeping human creativity at the centre.”
Krishna forms part of Historyverse, Collective Studios’ ambitious slate of history and culture-driven IPs. The slate draws from iconic figures and traditions that shaped the Indian subcontinent, including stories inspired by Kali, Karna and Durga. It builds on the already-released Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh series, showing how ancient narratives can be reimagined for modern screens.
Jio Studios, India’s leading content studio and the media and content arm of Reliance Industries, continues its blockbuster run. The studio’s Dhurandhar franchise led by Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge has become the first Indian film series to cross Rs 3,000 crore worldwide. It also delivered three consecutive years of India’s highest-grossing Hindi films: Stree 2 (2024), Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026). In just eight years, Jio Studios has assembled a library of over 160 films and series, with more than 60 titles winning over 500 awards. Other notable successes include Laapataa Ladies (India’s official Oscar entry 2025), Stree, Article 370, Shaitaan and Mrs.
The NAB unveiling marks another step in Jio Studios and Collective’s push to blend Indian storytelling talent with frontier technology proving that the future of cinema may well be both ancient in spirit and thoroughly modern in execution. For audiences who love epic tales with a fresh twist, Krishna promises to deliver divine drama, this time with a little help from the cloud.
