Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Bollywood movies of 2018 that proved to be of mediocre quality – Part 4 (Zero)' that was published in Newsband

Movie World         

Bollywood movies of 2018 that proved to be of mediocre quality – Part 4

Zero

The film Zero directed by Aanand L Rai has superstar Shah Rukh Khan playing a dwarf for the first time in his career. The movie also has Katrina Kaif as a troubled Bollywood star Babita Kumari and Anushka Sharma’s cerebral palsy act. But they too could not salvage this film

Zero is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film, written by Himanshu Sharma and directed by Aanand L. Rai. It was jointly produced by Colour Yellow Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment's Gauri Khan, and stars Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif. It follows Bauua Singh, a short man from Meerut who, after having difficulty finding a marriage partner, finds a companion in Aafia Bhinder, a NSAR (a fictional space research facility) scientist with cerebral palsy. However, film superstar Babita also gets close with him, testing his first relationship. This love triangle takes them to far-off cities, and thrusts Bauua into an adventure to discover both his true love and completeness in a life lived to the fullest.

Produced on a budget of ₹200 crore (US$28 million), Zero is Khan's most expensive film. The film was conceived by Rai in 2012, before pre-production began in 2016. Initially having a working title of Katrina Meri Jaan, Zero went through numerous title changes before arriving at the final title in early 2018. Principal photography of the film began in Mumbai on May 2017. It marked the last film appearance of Sridevi, who died shortly after completing the film. Filming concluded in 2018 in Orlando. The film's soundtrack is composed by Ajay-Atul with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, under the label T-Series.

Zero was released on 21 December 2018, to mixed reviews from critics. Critics particularly praised the film's visual effects and the performances of Khan and Kaif, but the screenplay was criticised for its inconsistency. It earned ₹90.39 crore in India in the first seven days after its release, but was unable to recoup its budget in its theatrical run. Zero earned seven nominations at the 64th Filmfare Awards, including Best Music Direction for Ajay-Atul, Best Actor for Khan and Best Supporting Actress for Kaif. Red Chillies VFX won the award for Best Special Effects.

Reception

Critical response

Zero released to mixed reviews from critics. Most agreed that while it aimed high in its intentions, and had a "stellar" cast that gave above-average performances (with praise particularly given to Khan and Kaif), it was "cut short by the resources at hand," and that the second half in particular was "aimless" and "scattered."

Raja Sen of the Hindustan Times gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling the first half of the film "flat-out fantastic, an unabashed charm-offensive," and noting that the writing and dialogues "crackle with spontaneity and inventiveness." Yet he says that when the film outgrows the small town of Meerut, it finds it hard to keep its witty nature along with the ambitious second half; where the film should have "gone bonkers," it takes a melodramatic approach that doesn't work. Sen commends the actors, particularly Sharma's commitment to the role and Khan's tremendous energy. He implies that Khan saves the film with his trademark acting, regardless of the film's writing issues. Swetha Ramakrishnan of Firstpost praised the "ambitious" nature of the film and called it "extremely self-aware," particularly in its first half, crediting it for grounding the plot in warmth. She praised Sharma's "impassioned" role and Kaif's performance as a strong yet vulnerable actress, and commended both actresses for digging into their roles. She also praised Khan's charm and wrote, "You may or may not like the film, but you will most certainly fall in love with Bauua Singh." However, she noted that the second half felt "surreal" and that it was hard to keep up with, saying that it "falls prey to the second-half curse".

Rachit Gupta of The Times of India gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, saying the film had an "inspiring concept" yet was poorly executed. He said that while the film puts forth many ideas, few of them stick and the romantic moments and visuals, while striking, only stay for a little while. The film felt too long and the second half, when Bauua travels out of his hometown, feels more audacious than the first. Yet the positive is that the characters stay upbeat despite their challenges, and the lead actors (particularly Kaif in a striking role) give good performances. Gupta concludes in saying that while the film builds up an exciting story well, it doesn't quite finish it in the way the viewer would anticipate. Ankur Pathak of Huffington Post India praised the performances of the leads, yet says that the film was "weighed down by its own excesses." While the film was ambitious, it was mostly "heightened and exaggerated and hyper-glamorised." He called the main characters excellent, and praised Khan's performance, with Katrina Kaif being "a huge revelation" and acting in ways hitherto unseen. Yet the "starkly different, bizarre visual language of the second half hampers the overall experience of the movie." Despite this, Pathak believes that Khan's performance saves the film and that "although this ride has a few breakdowns, overall, one comes out smiling..." Baradwaj Rangan gave the film 3.5 stars out of five.

Kunal Guha of the Mumbai Mirror gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a "half-baked love story," with an "over-the-top plot" that misses the special touch of Director Rai. He notes that actress Sharma tries too hard to make Aafia believable and often mumbles dialogue, while Kaif is given a meatier emotional role and Khan's energy and attitude comes off as "consistently annoying." He concludes by saying that "the one who signed off on this one was being short-sighted." Shibaji Roychoudhury of Times Now News gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying that the film's direction has "strong imprints of Rai's direction," and commended the humor and the "earthy" performances of the main and supporting cast. He noted that Director Rai excelled at creating a 'small-town feel' in the first half, and that initially the film was "fairly well-written and on occasion also relatable." However he noted that the second half attempts fantastic elements which falter; the story takes a while to unwind and "logic goes out of the window." He praised the "convincing" performances of Khan and Sharma, yet called Kaif "wasted" in the film and that Zeeshan Ayyub was "rather underwhelming." He concluded that the writing was the film's weak point - while the plot was established well in the beginning, there was little consistency in the second half. Rajeev Masand of CNN-News18 gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying that while the first half was impressive, the ambitious screenplay and ideas were plagued by an "overwrought screenplay" and that the second half that "feels like an entirely different film." He commended the effort of the actors and producers, particularly the acting of Khan; yet noted that the second half becomes undone. He said it seemed as if the writers "threw everything at the wall and decided to see what sticks. Unfortunately, very little does."

Anupama Chopra of Film Companion gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying that it was so "bizarre and implausible and incoherent" despite having "ferociously talented people both in front of the camera and behind it." She says in the second half the "promising premise derails;" while the individual characters are interesting, the "connective tissue between...is so thin that the narrative starts to wobble." She praised the VFX, scope and imaginative feel, but was "sad" that the artistic ambition of the creators wasn't achieved. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, noting that while the impressive acting of the leads and stellar visual effects aided the film, ultimately the screenplay was its undoing and left it a "monumental mess." The plot was undermined by a "slew of whimsicalities that defy logic and an uneven tone that borders on the gratuitously facetious." He notes that while Khan's electric performance powers the film, it never gives the film enough to make sense, noting that the second half "flies too high and too helter-skelter." He commended the physical efforts of Sharma's acting and Kaif's vulnerability, yet felt that the film aimed too high without sensitively portraying the struggles of disabled people.

Anna MM Vetticad of Firstpost gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, saying that Shah Rukh Khan is the best part about it, and that without him the film would have little to show; the first half lets the actor have fun to the hilt, while the second tries to take a serious message but fails to deliver properly. She noted that while Zero does not have the misogyny of Rai's previous films, it also "does not know what to do with" its female characters - while commending Bauua's sharp wit and strong character in facing the odds of life. Writer Sharma doesn't know how to write about relatable women - and thus Aafia and Babita come off as "bores." Overall, the film was a "a spluttering, tottering affair." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, giving it a one-word review of "Fiasco." He noted that while he expected much from the collaboration of Rai and Khan, the convoluted writing in the second half took the film downhill, turning it into an "Epic Disappointment." Shubra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 1 out of 5 stars, calling it "Preposterous Drivel." She says that this iteration of Khan is one people had already seen, despite his short-height, and that once the film establishes its characters, it doesn't know what to do with them. It abandons its "rootedness, and flees towards preposterousness." She says that the set-up doesn't come quickly enough, and that the characters are stuck "trying to do everything," and thus little is achieved.

Box office

Zero collected ₹20.14 crore at the box office on its first day; the following day it earned ₹18.22 crore and on third day ₹20.71 bringing its first weekend domestic earning total to ₹59.07 crore. It earned on Monday ₹9.50 crore and on Tuesday (Christmas holiday) ₹12.75 crore in domestic circuit. The USA Box office collection of Zero on Day 2 (22 December) was $283,808 (₹1.99 crore) from 262 screens.

The total domestic gross collection of the film is ₹115.74 crore in India, and the overseas gross collection is $10 million (₹70.26 crore), according to Bollywood Hungama. The film's total gross collection stands at ₹186 crore ($29 million) worldwide.