SRK’s ‘Zero’ Lands Nowhere With Its Shoddy Script

The second half of ‘Zero’ made us feel stupid for even hoping that this movie could be anything other than its title

Movie poster altered by The Quint.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

Camera: Shiv Kumar Maurya

Video Editor: Kunal Mehra

Video Producer: Chandni Sharma

SRK and his die-hard fans all are wishing for one more Chak De India and understandably so. His last few films haven’t exactly been flawless, and so, the wait is on for that one film with that one role that will make SRK invincible again. Sorry to break it to you, but Zero isn’t that movie.

Zero’s hero is a dwarf, adtees saal ka ‘launda’ who is seeking a bride. Bauua is self-aware, and repeatedly mentions how the world makes fun of people like him and think they belong only in a circus. But his give-a-damn attitude and the extra swagger he adds to his walk to keep duniya and his own dad’s misgivings about him at bay wins us over. When Bauua starts hanging out with a NASA scientist in a wheelchair, who suffers from cerebral palsy, we surely get excited, looking forward to how this pans out.

Bauua’s object of desire, however, is top actor Babita Kumari, aka Katrina Kaif; who, I daresay, is playing herself. She is even nursing a broken heart, courtesy a fellow actor named Kapoor. Go figure!

Now, here are three characters, all judged by society on the basis of their physical appearance. And so, we feel a little hopeful about the proceedings. The premise definitely seems promising as an honest and refreshing examination of relationships.

The second half, however, made us feel stupid for even hoping that Zero could be anything other than its title.

What writer Himanshu Sharma and director Anand L Rai give us is a confused, shoddy story that just doesn’t know what to do with its three principle characters or where to take them.

From Meerut ki galiyaan to glitzy award functions to outer space, Zero is a disastrous ride that crash lands in the middle of nowhere. This is no Chakh De! but rather, ‘chuck it’!

It’s not that the performances are bad. In fact, SRK gives it his all and Katrina Kaif doesn’t hold back either. However, we are forced to suspend our disbelief and surrender to the contrived plot which has everything from a dance competition to a space adventure-ready chimpanzee. The set-up is too huge and the pleasures dwindle too soon.

It’s 1 Quint out of 5 for this lost ride!