The film stars an ensemble cast of Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar, Katrina Kaif, and Kalki Koechlin.

Kabir and his fiancée Natasha experience significant misunderstandings, while Imran wishes to meet his biological father, an artist.

The film had a worldwide release on 1,800 screens and was a commercial success grossing ₹1.53 billion (US$18 million) and received critical acclaim[4] for its direction, story, screenplay, music, dark humor, cinematography and performances of the ensemble cast.

At the party, Natasha learns that Kabir is planning a three-week bachelor road trip to Spain with his high school friends Imraan and Arjun.

Imraan has an additional personal agenda on the trip – to find his biological father Salman Habib, an artist in Spain.

Kabir admits to Arjun and Imraan that he is not ready for marriage, but is reluctant to call off the wedding for fear of breaking Natasha's heart.

Anupam Kher filmed scenes as Imran's stepfather, Faisal Qureshi, but he did not make the theatrical cut.

[14] In November 2009, director-writer Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti completed the scripting of a film after three months of work.

[21] The first choice for the location of principal photography was Mexico, but was later changed to Spain because the climax features the running of bulls and Zoya wanted a country that blended history, culture, and sports.

[22] Initially, the producers wanted Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan to play two of the three leads, but they declined without specifying a reason.

[24] Principal photography began in June 2010 and took place in the United Kingdom, Egypt, Mumbai, and in Spain at Barcelona, Pamplona, Buñol and Andalusia.

[16] The La Tomatina festival of Buñol was re-created for the song "Ik Junoon"; almost sixteen tons of tomatoes worth ₹10 million (US$120,000) were flown in from Portugal for the scene.

The composers engaged María del Mar Fernández, a Spanish flamenco singer, to perform the vocals on "Señorita"; her film-singing debut.

On 7 July the cast and crew embarked on a road trip from Mumbai to Delhi via Surat, Vadodra, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Ajmer and Jaipur that culminated in a concert at Gurgaon.

[42] The film's marketers released branded promotional items with Mountain Dew,[43] Gillette[44] and ING Vysya Bank.

[46] OPIUM Eyewear launched exclusive Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara sunglasses[47] to promote the film.

[50] A special screening of the film was held at the residence of Shah Rukh Khan on 16 July, on the occasion of Kaif's birthday.

Zoya Akhtar has a unique, compelling voice and unlike many of her contemporaries, she actually respects that a cinema audience can be both intelligent and mature.Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara garnered widespread acclaim from critics who praised its direction, story, screenplay, music, dark humor, cinematography and performances of the ensemble cast.

[58] Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph called Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara "a beautifully scripted journey of catharsis" and praised director Zoya Akhtar for being "fearless in the way she shoots".

[62] Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India gave the film 3.5/5 stars and lauded its lead performances; "If Abhay is the anchor of the group, Farhan's funster role is full of beans and Hrithik's metamorphosis from uptight, money-minded stock broker to carefree vagabond is a class act".

[65] Kaveree Bamzai of India Today also praised for Akhtar's direction and said, "By the time I finished watching Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara I was convinced that no one can make a romance as beautifully as a woman", giving the film 4 stars.

[66] Subhash K Jha rated Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara 3.5/5 and wrote; "Zoya, God bless her aesthetics, sucks us into the beauty of the moment, not giving us any reason to believe that life's most precious truths are swathed in squalor".

[67] Blessy Chettiar of DNA India praised the music and Farhan Akhtar's acting as highlights of the film, saying, "For all this, the storywriters use heavy doses of symbolism.

Deep-sea diving at Costa Brava, sky-diving in Sevilla and the San Fermin bull run in Pamplona, not to forget the Tomatina festival in Buñol, where Arjun finally lets go.

[68] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN stated, "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara takes the light-hearted tone of a fun, all-boys road trip through Spain to give you a deep and heartfelt message on why we should live life by seizing the moment and following our hearts".

[71] In India, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara came in second on release behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

[78] With no significant competition other than Singham, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara remained in second place at the box office for four weeks after its release.

PETA spokesperson Poorva Joshipura spoke about the event and said, "We will now be contacting the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Central Board of Film Certification to take action".

"[84] Spanish-American artist Charo sent a letter to Zoya Akhtar on behalf of PETA asking her to remove all of the scenes related to the running of the bulls.

[95] In an interview with Hindustan Times, Roshan said the plot of the sequel could be set five or six years after the events depicted in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and that the characters would be older and would have a reason to go on another trip.