Shahrukh Khan ends 2018 with a zero

‘Zero’ is a tall tale about a short man. This man is played by Bolly­wood’s evergreen romantic hero Shahrukh Khan, who digitally shrinks to become the four feet tall Bauua Singh, a self-centered and motor-mouthed 38-year-old bachelor from a small town in Meerut, India. It isn’t the first time we’ve seen Khan shed out his arms-wide-open lover boy persona. We’ve watched him play a video-game character turned superhero (Ra.One) and an obsessed fan of a Bol­lywood superstar (Fan). Here too he pushes through a physically challenging role with some help from his Red Chillies VFX team. But take away the scale of the film’s production and its visual effects, and ‘Zero’ is a very problematic film that hops from one genre to another and takes giant leaps of faith. The result? An unsta­ble film that impresses, con­fuses and frustrates in equal proportions.

Who should watch it?

If you can buy the outlandishness of the movie and get past the film’s giant logical leaps then you might find ‘Zero’ entertaining.

It isn’t the first time we’ve seen Khan shed out his arms-wide-open lover boy persona

Bauua Singh is introduced as a wayward son of a well-off father (Tigmanshu Dhulia). Bauua spends his time either annoying his belt-wielding father or throwing cash at any­one who flatters him by link­ing him with his Bollywood crush, actress Babita Kumari (Katrina Kaif). Bauua’s search for a matching life partner takes him to Aafiya (Anushka Sharma). There’s a one in a million chance that Aafiya, a scientist suffering from cere­bral palsy (whose research has helped discover water in Mars) will fall for Bauua (whose studies stopped after 10th grade).

But Bauua woos Aafiya with his street-smartness and Aafi­ya finds his antics non-judg­mental and unlike the pity she receives from everyone around. She goes head over heels for Bauua and even fights off her parents who badmouth Bauua for his height and education. And then just Bauua’s dream-girl Babita Kumari crosses his path. He’s so smitten to see her in real life that he aban­dons everything, even Aafiya, to pursue her.

‘Zero’ populates itself with quirky characters that we don’t often see in a mainstream masala film. Aside from Bauua and Aafi­ya who suffer from unique physical conditions, the oth­er major character Babita Kumari is drawn from real life. She’s a spoilt celebri­ty, drinking away her wor­ries to get over a breakup. And Katrina Kaif finds the right mojo to give us a no-holds-barred Babita Kumari. She even over­shadows Anushka Sharma’s inconsistent and overtly dra­matic portrayal of the wheel­chair-bound Aafiya.

When you watch Bauua and all the other main leads of ‘Zero’ in isolation, there is so much to like about them. But when they are pitted together by a plain plot that is not ashamed of its outlandish façade, we as audience lose connection between parts and forget what kind of movie we are watching. Is this a romantic epic? Is this a space explo­ration sci-fi flick?

Director Aanand L Rai and his frequent screenwrit­er Himanshu Sharma fail to deliver a coherent narra­tive. In ‘Zero’ they bank on Shahrukh Khan’s charm to pull off big and highly imag­inative set pieces. And Khan pulls out all stops to give us an earnest Bauua. But the plot’s silliness is too much to handle after the film’s mid­point and Bauua’s change of heart feels unearned and too hasty.

The silly ambition to patch up a rickety storyline with king size budget and high quality VFX work has dwarfed ‘Zero’ into a film that only impresses in parts and disap­points on a massive scale.

 

 

Movie: ZERO

Genre: Romantic Comedy

CAST: Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif

DIRECTION: Aanand L Rai