Zero movie review: The film is helmed by Aanand L Rai.
Zero, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif, has hit the screens. The Aanand L Rai directorial is the solo Bollywood release this week and is expected to perform well at the ticket counters. In the movie, Shah Rukh essays the role of a vertically challenged man who falls in love, first, with wheelchair-bound Anushka and then with a popular actress essayed by Katrina. Apart from the three lead actors, Zero also features Zeeshan Ayyub and has special appearances by actors like Abhay Deol, Madhavan, Salman Khan, Sridevi, Alia Bhatt, Karisma Kapoor and others.
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Talking about Zero, director Aanand L Rai told PTI, “Zero is about the incompleteness of any form – be it emotional or physical. But it has nothing to do with happiness. The film is about ‘let’s celebrate life in any form’. This film makes me feel very dreamy. I being on a wheelchair can be a happier person than you. It is about accepting all the flaws and weaknesses and celebrating life. It is about romancing life not surviving. Don’t survive… live.”
This could have been a film for the ages. How many times do we see A-list Bollywood superstars go out of their comfort zone? SRK could have taken a deep dive into Bauua and emerged on another level: there is no one else who aces the lover-and-the-joker with as much self-awareness as he does. But he gets busy trying to do another Swades, and fly the flag, and be a patriot. In trying to do everything, very little is achieved.
Read More | Zero review: Preposterous drivel
Bhushan Kumar posted on Twitter, "It's #ZeroDay. My best wishes to the entire team for today's release! Delighted to have been a part of this project. @iamsrk @aanandlrai @AnushkaSharma #KatrinaKaif"
SRK fans are loving his performance in Zero.
Farah Khan posted a special message for Shah Rukh Khan on Instagram with this photo. She wrote, "Sending the warmest, tightest hug to my dearest @iamsrk today for his most awaited #zerothefilm .. wishing it all Success, love n blessings ?@gaurikhan @katrinakaif @anushkasharma & AnandRaiAnand.."
(Source: Instagram/Farah Khan)
Zero has been receiving mediocre reviews from the critics but SRK loyalists are loving the film.
(Express photo: Varinder Chawla)
(Express photo: Varinder Chawla)
Rahul Dholakia, who has earlier worked with SRK on Raees, posted on Twitter, "May the Audience be with you ! @iamsrk Sir !! Best wishes to the Team #Zero @Mdzeeshanayyub @aanandlrai"
Shah Rukh Khan told indianexpress.com, "I always think, within the commercial cinema setup that I am working in, how I can bring in something new, as an actor, as a producer, in whatever capacity I can. So, there I am not complete at all. I am very restless. If you think you are complete, then you are boring. Then you are over and done with."
Also Read | Zero actor Shah Rukh Khan: As an artiste, I am very incomplete
Sohum Shah shared on Twitter, "#Zero is an absolute spectacle. Right from @aanandlrai sir’s direction to @iamsrk’s performance.. everything in this film is flawless. The climax will leave you stunned and how."
Emraan Hashmi shared on Twitter, "Hearing fab stuff about #zero . Preview show reactions and critics alike ! All the best @iamsrk and team!! This ones a winner ?
Abhishek Bachchan shared on Twitter, "Here's wishing all the best to @iamsrk, @aanandlrai, Anushka, Katrina and the entire team of #Zero all the very best for their release today. Can't wait to watch it."
SRK spoke to indianexpress.com and said, "I hope people understand it is amazingly special to be ordinary, to be who you are physically, mentally and emotionally. We have tried to cover all three aspects. I think people will come out smiling from the theater."
Also Read | Shah Rukh Khan: With Zero, I hope people understand how amazingly special it is to be ordinary
Sacred Games actor Kubbra Sait posted on Twitter, "I’ll go on a limb and say this... #Zero will be a head turner, time stopper, heart breaker and the rescuer of love. Grandest luck to @iamsrk @AnushkaSharma #KatrinaKaif"
Anurag Kashyap posted on Twitter, "Zero day today .. all the best @aanandlrai and team zero"
Indianexpress.com's Anvita says, "The first half of the Shah Rukh Khan starrer is entertaining enough, but the second half of the movie is so disastrous that you can't help but wonder what the writer and filmmaker were thinking of when they were penning the script. Let's just put it this way, Zero suffers from the lack of a story. There's no plot, there are just lines thrown around by three very popular actors."
In an interview with indianexpress.com, Katrika Kaif said, “I do believe that because Shah Rukh in his approach with women and his female co-stars is all about making you better and as good as you can be. He wants his female co-stars to shine. He wants them to be strong. I do feel that it does in the end. It does add to the fact that you very rarely see an insipid, incidental character in a Shah Rukh Khan film. It’s rare. Most of the female characters in his films are well-defined and most of the women in his films also get appreciated."
Also Read: Zero actor Katrina Kaif: It’s rare to have insipid, incidental characters in a Shah Rukh Khan film
Trade analyst Sumit Kadel shared on Twitter, "#zero opens with FANTASTIC occupancy in early morning shows across India. All India average occupancy is 45-50% & at some centers like Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, guwhati opening is colossal at 75-80%"
Zero director Aanand L Rai told The Indian Express, “When one looks at these characters, they might be filled with pity. But I wanted to negate those emotions entirely because they don’t need our sympathy. I want to celebrate life with all its incompleteness, and people with all their imperfections, because in a philosophical way, I want the audience to see that there is beauty in that state, and that it is very human too."
Also Read | I want to celebrate life with all its incompleteness, says Aanand L Rai
Talking to indianexpress.com, trade analyst Girish Johar said, "Being a non-holiday Friday, the film is expected to earn something between Rs 25-27 crore. Clocking around 3500 screens, everything is going well for SRK. His character Bauua Singh has become a household name because of a well-crafted promotion strategy.”
Also Read | Zero box office prediction: Shah Rukh Khan film to earn Rs 25-27 crore on Day 1
Shah Rukh Khan
As the saying goes, the name is enough. And in Shah Rukh Khan's case, it's true. The actor has fans all over the world and many people rush to buy tickets just to catch him cast his spell on celluloid. And in Zero's case, the anticipation with regards to the film is higher than usual because SRK will be returning to the big screen after a one-year gap, post the debacle of Jab Harry Met Sejal.
Storyline
A vertically challenged man falls in love, twice. And there is some space action involved as well, according to the trailer. If that is isn't enough to intrigue you, then you are a tough nut to crack. Plus, it's the Badshah of Bollywood who is playing the said vertically challenged man.
Chemistry
The lead cast of the film share a crackling chemistry with each other. Having worked together previously in the Yash Chopra flick Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Shah Rukh, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma are quite comfortable with each other and that gets reflected onto the screen whenever they come together. Also, not that it matters, but it is interesting to note that both Katrina and Anushka happen to be the only two women who have shared a kiss with SRK on screen.
Visuals
Shah Rukh Khan as the vertically challenged Bauua Singh is a spectacle enough in itself. The computer-generated images (CGI) are incredibly convincing. And if the released promos are anything to go by, the movie will make for an even grander watch.
Aanand L Rai
Having directed successes like Raanjhana, Tanu Weds Manu and Tanu Weds Manu Returns, filmmaker Aanand L Rai seems ready to take the box office by its horns with his upcoming project Zero. The aforementioned movies had drama, a solid script and some great comedic moments, so to expect another hit from Aanand doesn't seem like a stretch at all.
"It overwhelms me to see how @iamsrk gives top billing to his heroines in all his movies!! True hero!! Bestests for #zero!!!love you loads," Divya Dutta said via Twitter.
"Zero is a beautiful coincidence for me. I realised this very recently and I had to put it out. I started my career with you Shah Rukh and it’s really beautiful that on my 10th anniversary as an actor, we are releasing our fourth film together! Zero is a labour of love for Aanand L. Rai, Himanshu Sharma and Shah Rukh and it is incredible that they have dared to dream, dared to think that they can create something so spectacularly new. It is one of my most challenging roles and thank you Anand L. Rai for believing in me, for letting me create Aafia on screen. She is an embodiment of strength, happiness, resolve and love and I am so proud to present this incredible person to you. I wish this world had more people like Aafia. Coming back to our fourth film together Shah Rukh - I would like to say that you are the most giving actor that I have worked with. It is strange and beautiful that I have done some of my most challenging works with you. In the journey of our four films, I have seen myself grow and I have seen you being there and showing the same enthusiasm and support for me to shine. Lots of love for Zero to you, Aanand sir, Katrina and the entire team of Zero who has made a dream turn into a beautiful reality," Anushka Sharma said in a statement.
Indianexpress.com's Komal says, "Shah Rukh Khan gives more than 100% to Zero. His performance is impeccable. Katrina performs so well, she is a pleasant surprise. The first part of the film sets a tempo and the second half kills it. It is a film packed with amazing dialogue and performances, but it becomes two different films by the end of the show."
Indianexpress.com's Mimansa says, "Zero begins well with two differently abled characters celebrating life and overpowering their weaknesses. But only for some time. The Aanand L Rai film soon begins to falter. It suffers heavily from so many things. A weak script, which is so predictable that even if you return to your seats a little late post the interval, you won't miss anything in particular. Katrina Kaif's Babita Kumari arrives with the same randomness, as she exits. Brilliant actors like Dhulia, Sheeba Chaddha, Bijendra Kala and Abhay Deol are wasted. The only respite and moments of laughter are between SRK's Bauua and his buddy Guddu Singh played by Mohammad Zeeshan Ayyub. For the makers, the film's title Zero has a connotation, or maybe two. But after watching it, all can be said is, it has zero meaning, as does the film! To say that it suffers from the curse of the second half would be saying too little."
This could have been a film for the ages. How many times do we see A-list Bollywood superstars go out of their comfort zone? SRK could have taken a deep dive into Bauua and emerged on another level. But he gets busy trying to do another Swades, and fly the flag, and be a patriot. When you try to do everything, very little is achieved.
Also Read | Zero movie review: Preposterous drivel