When Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan responded to tabloid!'s e-mail interview about Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, he was intent on driving home the seize-the-day thread that binds his latest film together.

Heavily peppered with terms like "inspiring", "feel-good" and "self-discovery", it was impossible not to trip on them at every other turn. But this supremely sculpted man had a point. For his male-bonding saga about an extended bachelor trip to Spain (running for over 130 minutes) is all about that, and just that. The drama painstakingly lives up to his every claim.

Here's the deal. Kabir [Abhay Deol] — the seemingly sane one in the trio] is about to get hitched and before that he convinces his two close pals Arjun [Roshan] and Imran [Farhan Akhtar] to embark on an extended bachelor party — a road trip across Costa Brava, Pamplona and Seville. But instead of strippers and the trademark debauchery, they get high on risky adrenaline sports — think deep-sea diving, sky-diving and running with the bulls to get a better picture.

Does it work? Yes. And despite the carpe diem theme done to death in Bollywood films, ZNMD does not end up being didactic or cheesy. The impeccable chemistry among the friends is what makes this film work. Roshan as the suave, highly-driven investment banker is spot on, while the flirtatious, free-spirited Akhtar whips up the right emotions without being goofy. And for once, Katrina Kaif as the grabbing-life-with-both-hands Laila displays impressive acting chops as she breathes life into a corny line like "A person should be in a box only after he's dead." She does all this by lying under the stars with the troubled hunk Roshan.

The other lady — Kalki Koechlin as Deol's fiancée and a spoilt princess — is equally good as the insecure, disapproving girlfriend.

But do yourself a favour. Don't expect this one to be anything like the blockbuster Dil Chahta Hai. Here the plot of self-discovery is wafer-thin but it's the players and their unpretentious act that make it work. Of course, the sight of them cavorting shirtless around Spain always helps. With this, I am officially a Hrithik-fan convert. There, I said it.