This was the second of the series of films in which Zoya Akhtar directed her brother Farhan Akhtar. All three films were produced by Excel Entertainment, had music by Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy, and featured lyrics by Zoya and Farhan's father, Javed Akhtar. The other films in the series were "Luck By Chance" (2009) and "Dil Dhadakne Do" (2015).[1][2]
This film was shot extensively in Spain. It featured several Spanish cities and tourist attractions that included staged versions of the La Tomatina festival and the Pamplona bull run. The film's popularity resulted in a steep rise in Indian tourists to Spain. Over the next few years, the number of Indian visitors to Spain rose by 65 percent. The film became a case study in marketing management courses in Spain.[3][4]
PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) objected to the scenes of bull-running in this film and said that it would be seeking to take action against it. Producer Ritesh Sidhwani was dismissive of PETA's statements on the matter. He said that the film had been cleared by the Censor Board only after they had submitted documents to the Animal Welfare Board that stated that no animals were hurt during the film's shooting. The Spanish American artist Charo also wrote a letter to Zoya Akhtar registering her objection to the scene of the Running of the Bulls in the film.[5][6]
Director Zoya Akhtar had zeroed in on a nudist beach in the Spanish town of Lloret de Mar for shooting Katrina Kaif's introduction scene in the film. The beach had very few visitors during Zoya's earlier visits but on the day of the shooting, it was very crowded. The film's crew had a difficult time over the next few days as they had to ensure that the nudists did not walk into the frame.[7]
The working title of the film was "Running With The Bulls". Its final title was inspired by a line in the title song of the film "Rock On" (2008). "Rock On" (2008) was another Excel Entertainment film with music by Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy and lyrics by Javed Akhtar.[8][9]
Song
Dil Dhadakne Do - The title of this song inspired the title of another Excel Entertainment film, "Dil Dhadakne Do" (2015), which also had a song with the same title.[10]
Senorita - In an interview, Hrithik Roshan said that he was tricked into singing this song. When he sang it in the studio, he was told that it was part of a rehearsal. It was only later that he found out that his singing had been recorded and a good part of it was used in the song.[11]
Senorita - This song was Abhay Deol's singing debut. It is also perhaps the only film song in the playback singing era in which three actors who appeared on the screen for the song also sang for themselves. Farhan Akhtar was very impressed by Abhay Deol's singing but asked him to not sing again to retain the song's exclusivity.[12]
