Zero Movie Reviews and Interviews

Director: Anand L Rai

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif 

Music : Ajay-Atul

Anupama Chopra's Review of Zero

The truth is that I'm still trying to understand Zero. The story begins in Meerut and somehow moves to Mars. The beginning is smashing. We are introduced to Bauua Singh, a 4 foot 2-inch ball of cockiness and charm. It's Shah Rukh grabbing the riskiest role of his career with both hands and owning it one hundred percent. Incredibly, Katrina Kaif does much better as Babita Kumari, the Bollywood superstar lost in drink and a fog of sadness after being dumped. Zero strains for sweep and scale. The visual language suggests a glamorous fairy tale. The VFX is convincing and I loved the Ajay-Atul ballad Mere Naam Tu. But the rest of this film left me stumped and eventually, sad. Because when artists take such ambitious creative risks, you are really rooting for them to succeed.

Rahul Desai's Review of Zero

I never thought I'd say this, but here goes: Katrina Kaif is the best thing about Zero. The Bermuda Triangle is the only triangle that comes to mind with actors Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, mostly because the audiences that dare to enter their story never find themselves again. A Surreally Bad Shah Rukh Khan Starrer, But A Worse Aanand L. Rai Film.

Anupama Chopra's Interview with Aanand L Rai

The filmmaker talk to Anupama Chopra on making his most ambitious film with the superstar and yet retaining the trademark simplicity of his movies.

Both as a filmmaker and producer, Aanand L Rai has told stories that are rooted, simple and relatable. This year with Zero, he makes his biggest film yet with superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Can it be hard for a filmmaker to serve the 25-year-old legacy of a superstar, and yet retain his own voice? Rai says he's yet to meet the superstar in Khan. An excerpt from the interview:

Let's talk about Zero – the most ambitious film of your career. I read this interview that you did in 2013 where you talk about how you have to emotionally connect with your actors. And you said that I feel I'll be able to connect with Shah Rukh. He'll understand what I'm saying without me having to be a director. How did you know then that you could connect?

I had a strong feeling. I met him in 2015. I somewhere knew that jab bhi main inse milunga, there will be something which will gel. And it has happened. It has happened magically. And I'm not talking about a director-actor tuning or bonding. I'm talking about one person to another person. I have learnt a lot from him. Again, nothing professional about it. On a very personal level. Aur main bahut saari baatein karta hu unke saath. And trust me, agar hum dono aise nahi hote, Zero is really a tough film. But I'm telling you this is one of the finest journeys I've had till now and I've really enjoyed it.

I'd Be A Fool Not To Try Something New With SRK: Writer Himanshu Sharma On Writing For The Superstar In Zero

'You have to create something new with him and yet tap into that charm which has been enthralling us for so many years'

Aanand L Rai's biggest film yet, Zero, opens in a little over a month. The filmmaker and his frequent collaborator writer Himanshu Sharma have rarely failed. In the past they have given us successful films like Tanu Weds Manu (2001) and Raanjhanaa (2013). Their collaborations usually have a pattern to them – they are rooted stories told with simplicity. This time around, they are working with one of the country's biggest superstars in what looks like one of Hindi cinema's most technically ambitious films in recent years. "For someone like me it is a big pressure that thousands of technicians are working day in and day out to achieve something that you had thought of sitting on a sofa. It's extremely unnerving," says Sharma. Here he talks about how he has tried to push the envelope, but gently, while writing for the superstar.

At what point did you know Shah Rukh Khan was going to play the part? 
In the middle somewhere – when the scenes started coming to my head and Aanand thought we should approach Khan saab and see if he liked it. He really liked the idea. There wasn't a script ready then. In fact the first half was barely ready when he said yes to it.

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