ZERO Movie Review

A Big ZERO for the Script and A 100 for SRK!

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"Logic plus logic equals the illogical. Do you know what I mean? " -- Jason Schwartzman

Many of you might be wondering like me what Jason Schwartzman actually want to make us understand and it is the same feeling we have when we watch Aanand L Rai's much-hyped SRK's Christmas release 'Zero". From the outset, Aanand L Rai's ZERO is an all-out entertainer but slowly and steadily slips into becoming a total drag and clichéd film.

Like the main protagonist Bauua Singh (Shahrukh Khan) doesn't know how he landed up in Mars from the streets of Meerut, we too as audience wonder why and how we too have been taken for a ride every festival by these big budget movies, superstars and production houses. In Zero, SRK's lucky mascots like Katrina Kaif, Abhay Deol, R Madhavan, Salman Khan, the late Sridevi, Kajol, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Juhi Chawla, Rani Mukherjee and many more make a beeline to impress you and make your Christmas merrier but unfortunately ends up dampening your spirit.

 

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Shahrukh Khan as a dwarf wins your heart. Bauua is naughty, mischievous, confused, daring, passionate, romantic and an obstinate son. He is a spendthrift according to his on-screen father Tigmanshu Dhulia. They are always at loggerheads because the former feels his son is irresponsible and lives on his money and the latter feels his father's inadequate sperm counts to be the reason for he being vertically challenged. Their interactions are hilarious and definitely tickle your funny bone.

 

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Anushka Sharma as Aafiya Yusufzai Bhinder a NASA scientist with cerebral palsy crosses path with Bauua Singh on an unusual ground and that changes the trajectory of their life. Anushka as Aafiya ­­­­tries her best to impress you by her cerebral palsy act but cannot match the performance Kalki gave us in Shonali Bose' film 'Margarita With A Straw'. Aafiya fails to touch your hearts and inspire you on what she achieved as a scientist; this might be because of its script that is so dwarfed that even these talented actors failed to revive the spirit of the film it had shown in the beginning.

Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Bauua's friend and sidekick is good but unfortunately, a talented actor like him has nothing special to do and except changing the colour of his hair and carry a big torch always with him because he is one-eyed and the other one is 'Made in China'.

Katrina Kaif as the Bollywood siren Babita Kumari is beautiful and too good in her dance moves but equally disappointing as a heartbroken damsel. Abey Deol as her estranged boyfriend is cool. But as mentioned earlier why the crowd of star casts here in this film is really puzzling.

 

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This much-awaited King Khan's Christmas release definitely may draw the audience to the theatre to see the dwarfed Shahrukh Khan as Bauua Singh but Aanand L Rai, unfortunately, missed an opportunity to make 'Zero' a memorable movie. The filmmaker in its enthusiasm to present a small sized Shahrukh Khan knowingly or unknowingly dwarfed it's audience expectations too this Christmas.

The VFX is good, the song Mera Naam Tu is melodious and hummable.  

In short, it's high time that the big stars either reinvent them with some sensible content-driven films or take a really long break and allow other talented filmmakers and actors to get production houses supporting and funding their creative pieces of work. Go and watch Zero if you want to see a 'Baunna SRK' or give it a skip and go to a nearby church to listen to some awesome Christmas carols and eat a lot of cake with your favourite wine.

PEN Movie Review Rating: 2/5

Cast: Shahrukh Khan (Bauua Singh), Anushka Sharma (Aafia Yusufzai), Katrina Kaif (Babita Kumari), Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub ( Guddu), Tigmanshu Dhulia (Ashok), Sheeba Chaddha (Beena), Brijendra Kala (Pandey), Abhay Deol (Aditya Kapoor), R Madhavan (Sree, Fiancé of Aafia)

Genre: Romantic Drama

Director: Aanand L Rai

Producer: Gauri Khan

Written by: Himanshu Sharma

Screenplay: Himanshu Sharma

Story: Shankar

Music and Background Score: Ajay-Atul (Guest Composer: Tanisk Bagchi)

Cinematography: Manu Anand

Edited by: Hemal Kothari

Production Companies: Red Chillies Entertainment, Colour Yellow Productions

Distributor: Yash Raj Films

Release Date: 21 December, 2018

Duration: 164 Minutes

Language: Hindi