Zero movie review: SRK charms in this entertaining watch

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Zero movie review: SRK charms in this entertaining watch

Look out for some genuine comical moments in this Aanand L Rai directed film.

By Anita Iyer

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Published: Fri 21 Dec 2018, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Sat 22 Dec 2018, 5:50 PM

Bauua Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) is a 38-year-old, vertically challenged, small-town guy from Meerut. He is self-assertive and takes on trolls before they can make fun of his shortcomings. His second approach is to throw his father's (Tigmanshu Dhulia) money at his friends to gain their respect or shut them up. You cannot help but smile at Bauua's antics as he goes about living his carefree life.
The constant bickering between Bauua and his father is well-scripted in the film and gives us some genuine comical moments - as does the scenes with his friend, played by Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub. 
In a scene, he spends Rs6 lakh to woo Aafia (Anushka Sharma), who is a senior scientist from the United States. We are told that she is the one who found water on Mars and convinced NASA to send humans to the red planet. And yet, her picture is at a marriage bureau in Delhi and she finds it amusing that a good-for-nothing, grade 10 pass, dwarf wants to marry her.
Their relationship and the reason why Aafia falls so deeply in love with him is a little skewed- although it forms the backbone of the film.
It might seem unbelievable when a leading actress, Babita Kumari (Katrina Kaif) stops on a highway in Meerut and kisses a fan, who has been chasing her car for kilometres. And how he makes a place for himself in the entourage of a superstar by giving her a shoulder to cry on.
But this is Aanand L Rai's version of small-town dreams coming true. 
Babita is badly hurt when her boyfriend, a certain Kapoor, stops picking up her calls and ditches her for another actress. While her character is glamourous, free of all inhibitions and liberating, the scenes of her crying her kohl-laden eyes out, become a bit repetitive. But surprisingly enough, Katrina is a breathe of fresh air in Zero.
The combination of the hit-duo, director Aanand L Rai and writer Himanshu Sharma, at times falls short of infusing the magic of their earlier films in Zero. They have mastered the art of telling small-town stories in their earlier collaborations like the Tanu Weds Manu series and Raanjhanaa but could they have got overwhelmed with the big star cast leading the film?
The late actress Sridevi makes a guest appearance in the film along with Bollywood faces like Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Karisma Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone, but hardly add to the narrative. The song Issaqbaazi with Ganesh Acharya, Remo D'Souza and Salman Khan is entertaining and will give the Khan fans something to whistle about.
The music by Ajay-Atul, who delivered wonderful numbers in Dhadak, works its way in cushioning the film. The melodic 'Mere Naam Tu' forms a background to portray various emotions like romance, tension and the last space shuttle take-off scene in the climax.
Both SRK and Anushka should be lauded for attempting roles that are so different from the ones they have done so far.
In the end, it is the king of romance who charms you and keeps you indulged. Zero is definitely worth a watch for those who love entertaining movies. After all isn't that why we all go to the theatres - to laugh, cry and forget our woes and Zero manages to do that by living his life large size.
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif
Director: Anand L Rai
Ratings: 3/5
anita@khaleejtimes.com


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