Zoya Akhtar has confirmed that Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 2 is in development, with Reema Kagti. The update came in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India at the Monsoon Film Festival, 15 years after the 2011 road-trip classic’s release.
“We are on it.”
“We don’t know what will happen and what won’t… if we will get to a place where it feels correct, in catching up with these characters today. But it will be nice.”
Zoya Akhtar
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 2: what Zoya Akhtar said
Earlier this year, reports claimed Akhtar had locked a draft of the sequel that would reunite Arjun, Kabir and Imran — Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar. The Times of India reported that Deol had worked out an entire story for the second instalment. The confirmation stops short of casting, dates or a green light.
Why the sequel buzz started with an Abu Dhabi ad
The frenzy began with a 2025 commercial for Yas Island, Abu Dhabi’s tourism hotspot, which reunited the trio and leaned heavily on the film’s vibes. Fans assumed it was a trailer.
“People thought it was a trailer. First, they were like ‘YEAH!’ but then I got abused in my DMs saying, ‘This was not funny.’”
Zoya Akhtar
The ad worked; the follow-through did not.
The original Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was filmed across Spain, India and the United Kingdom. Made on a reported budget of Rs 45 crore, it earned around Rs 153 crore worldwide, and also starred Katrina Kaif, Kalki Koechlin and Naseeruddin Shah, per The Indian Express. For Bollywood fans in the UAE — where the film has stayed a favourite and Indian titles regularly hold their own at the UAE box office — the sequel question has been running for years. The answer, for now, is that they are on it. Casting, dates and a script that feels right all remain unconfirmed. But it will be nice.
Is Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 2 confirmed?
Zoya Akhtar confirmed the sequel is in development with Reema Kagti. No cast, release date or green light has been announced yet.
Will Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar return for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 2?
Unconfirmed. Reports say a locked draft reunites the trio, and the three actors starred together in a 2025 Yas Island ad, but nothing is official.
What was the Yas Island Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ad?
A 2025 tourism campaign for Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island featuring Roshan, Deol and Akhtar that leaned heavily on the film’s vibes — so heavily that fans mistook it for a sequel trailer.
