One of the most fun things I did in 2017 was visit Bollywood Theme park in Dubai.

Sure, it did run through my head as to how they could even come up with such a thing as a theme park revolving around Bollywood movies? Won’t the attraction of a movie whither away when newer movies come out?  How will they continue to keep the park attendees entertained?

But you know what? Who cares? Once I got in there, I bought the concept. I had a great time, and have to admit, found myself screaming and whooping in delight at two of the attractions: Don the Chase (which featured a thrilling car chase and a helicopter chase through Dubai!) and the recreation of the movie trailer for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD)- a movie based on three friends who take a road trip of a lifetime through gorgeous Spain!

ZNMD has been one of my favorite movies from Bollywood– friends, road trip and the gorgeous country of Spain– in fact, it was this movie that piqued my interest and desire to visit Spain, which I finally did in October 2017! I totally loved the whole idea of characters stepping out of their comfort zones, to unlock their potential and create a better, more fulfilled version of themselves.

In one of the crucial scene, Hrithik Roshan, overcomes his fear of scuba diving (as does Abhay Deol of skydiving!) and once they cross to the other side of fear, the liberation and the freedom — and happiness– that’s achieved is insurmountable! Wouldn’t it be incredible if we all could surpass our fears and actually enrich our lives meaningfully?!

Ok, back to my experience! So while we all huddled up in the waiting area for the ZNMD attraction, they asked for volunteers. My hands immediately shot up and I was asked to take part in the skydiving part of the trailer.  Others were chosen to take part in the mad bull stampede sequence while others took part in recreating sounds, such as the skydiving scream (the voice that dubbed my screaming was a little boy screaming!) and flamenco tap dancing.

While I, along with two others, were being fitted with the skydiving gear, the soundstage was being set, complete with green screen. We were called out amidst a huge round of applause. We were asked to lie down on the green colored stool in front of us, and when the director would shout action, we all had to scream and move our arms and legs…as if we were actually skydiving.

I felt really silly at the moment. I was required to do some acting– and I don’t think I succeeded much. I also realized how extremely difficult it is to do some imaginative acting. Full marks to all those actors out there who work with green screen!

Having said that, when they replayed the final movie trailer, the entire audience was in hoots! I couldn’t believe it myself as to how I ended up in the movie trailer! A hugely satisfying experience!

One experience off the #bucketlist!

And here is the original trailer for the movie….