Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti once revealed why the terror in ZNMD’s iconic bull run scene was 100% real.
Fifteen years after three friends packed their bags for a life-altering road trip across Spain, we are still obsessed with Zoya Akhtar’s Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. While the deep-sea diving made us hold our breath and the skydiving made our hearts soar, nothing matched the absolute terror of the final sequence: the running of the bulls in Pamplona
It turns out, the fear we saw on the faces of Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, and Abhay Deol wasn’t great acting. It was pure, unadulterated survival instinct.
Filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, in a chat with Film Companion, once opened up about how they pulled off one of the most dangerous shoots with this film.
While the team initially wanted to shoot during Spain’s actual San Fermín festival, the sheer logistical chaos and security risks made it impossible. Instead, they took over the streets of Pamplona, hired a thousand professional Spanish runners as extras to keep things organized, and brought in real, massive, unpredictable bulls.
The safety briefing given to the actors, before the camera rolled, was simple but incredibly grim. They were advised that once the gates opened and the bulls started running, they had to keep moving without stopping, while maintaining a safe distance. In case anyone fell, they were warned not to try getting up but to stay flat on the ground and cover their head. The reason was simple: the bulls would leap over someone lying down, but if a person tried to stand up, they risked being gored.
With that terrifying warning echoing in their ears, the gates opened, the bulls were released, and the actors took off.
In fact, they ran with so much genuine panic that they actually started outrunning the camera tracking vehicles. Zoya Akhtar laughed as she recalled the moment, pointing out that there was zero “acting” required for those close-ups. It was just three men running for their absolute lives with half-ton animals breathing down their necks.
Even though stunt doubles were on standby, the lead actors did a massive chunk of the running themselves to ensure the wide shots looked authentic.
Zoya explained that when audiences watch the bull run scene in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, what they see is not acting but pure adrenaline. She pointed out that the actors were fully aware of the danger that if they tripped or slowed down, the bulls were right behind them.
Released in 2011, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is about three friends on a Spanish road trip who face fears, heal friendships, and learn to live fully. The stellar cast is led by Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif, and Kalki Koechlin.
