- Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara featured Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif in a notable kissing scene
- Katrina Kaif’s first on-screen kiss was included to enhance her character’s impulsive nature
- Director Zoya Akhtar compared the kiss scene to a fairy-tale awakening moment between characters
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara remains one of Bollywood's most loved coming-of-age films. The Zoya Akhtar directorial featured Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif in a romantic equation that included a kissing scene, which stood out at the time. Notably, it was Katrina's first on-screen kiss.
Years after the film's release, Zoya has now opened up about why Katrina agreed to her first on-screen kiss with Hrithik. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, she said, “When I met Katrina, she had never kissed before on screen. She read it, and she said, ‘I understand you need it for the screenplay.'”
The filmmaker also broke down the scene by drawing parallels with classic fairy-tale archetypes.
“Laila lives in the moment and does her thing. But till then, we had never seen her doing anything in that moment. So, we needed this. Beyond saying goodbye, we needed her to do something completely impulsive that kind of cemented her character and who she is. He is the sleeping beauty, and she is the prince. She needed to kiss him to wake him up,” she added.
Zoya Akhtar further shared that she faced a lot of pressure from both Hrithik and Katrina's teams to include their romantic duet in the film.
"Everybody, including their management, was like, ‘They have to… You have Katrina and Hrithik for the first time; how can they not be dancing? I was like, ‘I don't know where. I don't know how to fit that in.' They further asked, ‘Can he imagine it at the beach?' I was like, ‘No! He can't imagine this at the beach.' Then they asked, ‘Can she come into the Senorita song?' I again said no: ‘She's gone. Only then would it feel fresh once she comes back. You know what I mean?'" she said.
While a song could have potentially added to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara's commercial appeal, Zoya admitted that she did not want to include one merely for the sake of it.
“Of course it would have been a great plug, and a great audience puller. They're both incredible… They look incredible; they are both incredible together. Their chemistry is great, and they're both great dancers. But my gut felt it wasn't working and that it would be a force-fit," she explained.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara also featured Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar and Kalki Koechlin in key roles. The film was produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under their banner, Excel Entertainment.