As a 2000s baby, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD) is one of my all-time favourite movies. The two-and-a-half-hour movie is packed with a laugh a minute and takes me down a mad trip, quite literally. Even when Arjun yells at Imraan, “Mera phone bahar phekna is not funny”, the scene leaves me laughing nervously. The movie has been my aspiration from the moment I watched it. I want to attend the La Tomatina festival, scuba dive to overcome my hydrophobia and find someone who can tell me, “Seize the day, my friend”. Is that too much to ask for? Well, maybe Kunal Kemmu was listening to my rant, so he delivered! How, you might wonder?

Kunal Kemmu delivered a middle-class spoof of ZNMD to me, which speaks to my reality and others like me. Madgaon Express, Kemmu’s first directorial debut film, is relevant to today’s times. The movie stars a unique cast— Dodo (Divyenndu), Pinku (Pratik Gandhi), Ayush (Avinash Tiwary) and Tasha (Nora Fatehi). Madgaon Express, just like ZNMD, doesn’t compromise on humour. It undergoes the journey of three school best friends having one simple wish— getting their parents’ permission to go to Goa. Isn’t that our only wish as well? 

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Carpe diem comes with an insufficient bank balance

ZNMD undoubtedly remains at the core of the hearts of people of my generation. For someone who can’t get enough of life’s chaos, I want to go with the flow and live life one day at a time. But is it possible to do so? There are days when I want to believe in the “25 din mein paisa double” scheme. And on other days, I’ll spend hours online looking for the perfect side hustle. At least the one where I can save up to finally have a Goa trip with my friends. So, when neither of the two happens, Dodo screams relatability. While his friends Ayush and Avinash have settled abroad for their higher studies, Dodo sits at home without a job. Not only that, ZNMD and Madgaon Express talk about friends drifting apart due to life responsibilities. 

Madgaon Express is a movie for the social media generation in a deeper sense. I’m well aware that Instagram is not my reality. Even then, I yearn to put my best self out there, covering up the blemishes of my life. Dodo is all of us who feel inadequate compared to our rich friends. I must applaud his masking skills because he fooled his long-distance friends into believing he was enjoying life as well. He finally hatches a plan to meet his best friends and fulfil their Go Goa Gone dream, even coming up with the cheapest way to do it! 

Safar or suffer?

There’s no car or flight involved; it’s the Madgaon Express train. The movie unfolds hilariously as Pinku and Ayush get a taste of middle-class reality through their best friend. It turns out their idea of the Goa trip and the one they actually had were poles apart. Booze, beach and hot girls came at the price of unintentionally being a part of a drug smuggling ring. No Arjun was harmed in the movie. There was just an overenthusiastic Dodo, terrified Pinku and completely unaware (and hot) Ayush against the local goons of Goa. That scene claims “Oh my God, ye toh bohot crazy kardiya maine”. Though that also escalated to “Pehle puri zindagi Goa aa nahi paa rahe the, ab yahan se jaa nahi paa rahe”, in no time. 

Madgaon Express creates an alternate universe for ZNMD, which is equally good. While Arjun, Imraan and Kabir show me an aspirational way to live, Ayush, Pinku and Dodo sit with me to live the reality. Overcoming fears is okay, and in Madgaon Express, that is the fear of parents, not water. Pinku is my best friend when it comes to that. I’m still hoping for a Goa trip that makes its way out of the group chat. Till then, I’ll just watch all the road trip or train trip Bollywood movies and manifest.

Goa trip will happen when it is meant to be. But why should you compromise on the fun in the meantime? Watch Madgaon Express on Amazon Prime Video now!

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