ZNMD 2: Is Farhan Akhtar Planning Girls-Only Road Trip With Alia Bhatt [details]

It's been 10 years since 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara', one of the cult films of Bollywood, was released. The film, featuring Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif and Kalki Koechlin, revolved around a road trip between three best friends and was a massive hit among the audience. Now, there is a buzz that the makers, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, are apparently preparing for a female version of the film and reports suggest that Alia Bhatt will be one of the main leads for the trio.

Farhan Akhtar to don the director's hat

"While Farhan acted in ZNMD, this time around, he will be directing this yet untitled film. It is written by him and Zoya, and though the concept of road trip remains the same, the narrative is diametrically different from what they did in the 2011 film. They have locked on the broad idea of this story through the lockdown," a close source to the development revealed to Pinkvilla.

According to the source, Alia Bhatt may potentially be one of the leads for the film. "He has discussed a probable collaboration with Alia and she is definitely excited to come on board the film. More meetings will take place throughout the year, and everyone is optimistic on this association working out. Apart from Alia, two more A-list actresses will join the gang, however, they have yet to decide on the names," the source has further revealed.

Post the release of the Zoya Akhtar directed 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara', there were several speculations and talks about the possibility of making the film with female protagonists and even people wondered how the film would have turned out with all women lead. But then, Zoya Akhtar had once said that she never imagined women in this film.

Why were women not cast as protagonists in ZNMD?

In an interview with MissMalini, the director had once said that they wanted to use something that was cathartic and they felt that with men that is simple as they don't really talk.

"For some reason, I just never saw women in this film. Also because we wanted to use the sport. We wanted to use something that was cathartic and with men that's simple because they don't really talk. The silences in the film were really important. The internal worlds were important. And the catharsis with sports – not just using it for the adrenalin, but also for poetry, you know? The whole thing just lends itself better to men because they don't really have heart to hearts. It's rare. The kind of journey inward helped better with them," Zoya said.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Alia Bhatt is extremely busy with her upcoming projects, including 'Brahmastra', 'Gangubai Kathiwadi', 'RRR', 'Takht', and a few others. "Hence, they have mutually decided to collaborate on the film in 2022. Exact timelines of the shoot will be known towards the end of year," the source added.