Source: Hindustan Times
Date: March 19, 2011
Be it Sholay, Silsila, Namak Haraam or Baghban, several films have captured the magic of Holi over the years. Now, the song `Ek Junoon' in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD), promises to be one of the most expensive Holi sequences in Bollywood till date. The only difference is that instead of colours, the producers recreated the Tomatina festival, the Spanish version of Holi, which is played with tomatoes and water. It wasn't easy as the unit wanted to shoot in July while the annual festival is celebrated in the Valencian town of Buñol in August. Also, the tomato crop in Spain wasn't ripe enough in July, last year. So they imported tonnes of tomatoes from Portugal before shooting with Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin and Ariadana Cabrol.
Producer Ritesh Sidhwani says, “Tomatina is important to our movie, which is about a group of friends who are on a road trip around Spain. I thought the Indian audience would relate to tomatoes because in India, people also use eggs and mud to play Holi.“ Since they couldn't clog Buñol's drainage system, the producers had to pulp the 16 tonnes of tomatoes before shooting. It cost ` 1 crore to get the tomatoes for the shoot. They also shot some wide angles when Tomatina was celebrated in August. Director Zoya Akhtar says, “It was extremely sweet of the people of Buñol to cooperate with us during the shoot. It was great fun as they celebrated twice, once as they always do, and again for India.“
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Source: TOI
Date: March 19, 2011
It's Holi tomorrow, but the team of Zoya Akhtar's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (releasing on June 24) have already celebrated. The team tells us how they indulged in their own round of fun by participating in the festival of Tomatina in Spain. Tomatina, an annual Spanish festival, is similar to Holi except that the Spaniards throw ripened tomatoes instead of colour at each other. A unit hand informs that Hrithik, Abhay, Farhan, Katrina and Adriana threw tons of tomatoes at each other and had a field day smearing 24 tonnes of tomato puree.
Says Zoya,"Tomatina in Spain is a festival closest to our Holi. The energy is infectious. We had a blast shooting this sequence, but it was a logistical nightmare for the producer as we shot in the actual location where the festival takes place. We had to shut the town down, but the residents of Bunyol were very accomodating." Producer Ritesh Sidhwani recalls how he had to call for some 16 tonnes of tomatoes from Portugal, "as the tomatoes in Spain were not ripe."
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Source: Bollywood Hungama
Date: March 19, 2011
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, is one of the biggest releases of this summer. The film is a complete joyride with three friends taking off on a fun filled road trip. Just as the nation is gearing up for the riot of colours with the festival of Holi, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara brings the famous Tomatina festival of Spain. The Spanish celebrate Tomatina every year by throwing ripened tomatoes on each other. Zoya Akhtar has put together one of the best looking cast who shares great chemistry with each other. This film has an elaborate scene, with the four stars, Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol taking part in the fun Tomatina festival. The Tomatina was re-created for the shoot of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. It was shot in Bunyol, Valencia, Spain. Almost 16 tons on tomatoes were used for the shoot and they were flown in from Portugal.
Apparently, the import of tomatoes itself cost the producers a good Rs. 1 crore! Talking about the shooting experience for the sequence, director Zoya Akhtar says, "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." Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara hits the screens on 24th of June 2011.