Just a day more for Xmas & what better to celebrate it than with friends & family. As is typical for any festive season, it's time to gorge on the goodies & entertain ourselves with some big banner movies. In Bollywood, this slot is usually booked by Aamir Khan, however this time around he opted for Diwali to release his dud "Thugs of Hindostan". So this Xmas holidays, we have King Khan's "Zero" which has attracted considerable pre-release attention as he was essaying the role of a vertically challenged individual. Hmm, the makers will be hoping that the box office collections does not turn out to be true to its name & protagonist's height???
Bauua Singh (SRK) is a 38 year old Meerut guy who was finding it hard to find a marriage alliance as he was vertically challenged even though he fantasized of making the Bollywood heart throb Babita Kumari (Katrina Kaif) his life partner. Despite the constant criticisms and mockery that he used to face from different quarters, he was cocky & oozed with confidence. This is when he happened to come across the wedding profile of Aafia Yusufzai (Anushka Sharma), a NASA scientist with cerebral palsy & ends up getting close to her, though he wasnt keen on taking the relationship forward. At this juncture he gets an opportunity to be part of a dance competition, the grand prize of which was a chance to meet Babita. The subsequent portions focuses on his relationship with the both of them & with whom he eventually ends up settling down.
Aanand L Rai made a name for himself with movies like "Tanu weds Manu", "Raanjhanaa" etc apart from bank rolling praise worthy flicks like "Nil Battey Sannata", "Mukkabaaz", "Tumbbad" etc. His partner in crime, Himanshu Sharma like his previous directorial ventures have also scripted this one. The first half breezes through with humour sprinkled liberally. The thought that Himanshu invested into the character of Bauua Singh, his attitude to life, family dynamics, relation with Aafia & Babita's insecure spirit all deserves praise & the same also applies to Aanand as well for handling it aptly. Unfortunately, all these cheers dies down the moment the second half begins as it moves towards absurdity at a rapid pace. It seemed like the dress rehearsal for SRK's next movie which is the biopic of Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma. By the time, the movie is over the audience are left confused as to what the hell the makers were trying to convey.
On the technical side, Ajay-Atul's music was pretty good especially "Mere Naam Tu" rendered by Abhay Jodhpurkar which is my most favourite track in the past couple of years. The way Manu Anand had shot it was fantastic while the VFX though impressive at times lacked consistency. When it becomes to performances, after the debacle of "Dilwale"; there has been a conscious effort from SRK's side to take up roles that offered him something to perform. This is undoubtedly one of his best roles in recent times & SRK has done a fantastic job. Anushka Sharma has given an earnest effort, but her portrayal of cerebral palsy wasnt quite upto the mark. However, Katrina Kaif surprised me with her ace performance of the broken superstar. As for the rest of the cast, Zeeshan Ayyub was fine while talented artists like Tigmanshu Dhullia & Sheeba Chaddha were wasted. The same goes for the cameos of Madhavan & Abhay Deol as well while the mini "Om Shanti Om" lineup of actresses or Salman didnt have any sort of impact.
Verdict: Being a SRK movie & the curiosity of watching him as a vertically challenged individual should enable the movie make a killing at the box office in the opening weekend. However, the lack lustered latter half will create a significant dent in the collections & it will definitely struggle to make a sizable profit especially since it was made at a cost of 200 C. In short, the first half is worth watching but the latter half is an absolute drag, the choice is yours!!!
Rating: 2/5
Regards...Ben
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