There is no doubt that Zero is one of the most divisive movies released in recent times. Shah Rukh Khan's latest film has divided the critics so much, with half of them praising the film and the rest trashing the movie. While we belong to the former camp, even we agree that many themes in the movie are very illogical and they belong to the Bollywood campy variety. After all, this is a movie about a vertically challenged man being sent to Mars so that he can prove his love. Zero Movie Review: Shah Rukh Khan’s Infectious Charm, Anushka Sharma’s Brilliant Act and Katrina Kaif’s Stunning Performance Win You Over!
The story is no great shakes and you have to suspend your disbelief at many moments to actually enjoy the movie. It has terrific performances from Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and surprisingly, Katrina Kaif. Zero's biggest flaw is that the second half gets way too serious when everything around it is absurd and therefore the proceedings lag. And yet, Rai's direction makes things watchable. Zero Box Office: Shah Rukh Khan's Film Opens to 50% Plus Occupancy
Zero is filled with enough WTF scenes, most of them intentional. Here are some of the choicest ones.
Splurging Rs 6 Lakhs For a Song
Bauua Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) goes all out to impress Afia (Anushka Sharma) with the "Mera Naam Tu" sequence, by hiring the hotel staff and using props and dancers. Perhaps for the first time in a movie, the protagonist admits how much money he had spent to make this whole thing work. And while we are it, what exactly does Bauua's father (Tigmanshu Dhulia) earn for a living that his son gets to spend so much?
Making Stars Shoot in Sky
Bauua Singh has this one magic trick that is never explained at any point of the movie - he can make stars shoot out of the sky at his whim. He even impresses Afia, who is a space research scientist, with his skills. Later, in a crucial moment of the film, he even makes stars shower in the sky (though accidentally), leaving the employees of Zero's version of NASA stunned.
The Kiss in the Night
A star-struck Bauua and his friend follow an inebriated, down-in-the-dumps Babita Kumari when the latter returns from Meerut attending an event at a mall. Afia stops the car and gets out of it and beckons Bauua to come closer. After rambling on about how all men are the same, she kisses Bauua out of the blue, leaving him stunned. She then goes back to her ride, but not before telling him that no one would believe they kissed.
Bauua Runs Away From His Wedding
Bauua's family members force him to get married to Afia when the latter returns to meet after their one night stand. Bauua is not happy with the marriage, and he completely loses interest after the kiss with Babita, thinking now he has a chance with her. To top it all, he gets selected in a dance competition winning which will make him a plus one for Babita at a party. Needless to say, Bauua runs away from his marriage leaving Afia high and dry and very angry. This scene finally confirmed that he is a scoundrel, but he did have that decency to tell Afia about his decision. Not that she believed him, though.
The "Issaqbaazi" Sequence
As you know, Salman Khan makes a special appearance in the song "Issaqbaazi". The song comes during the finale of the dance competition that Bauua is a part of, where he is competing with Ganesh Acharya and Remo D'Souza no less, before having a dance-off with Salman. While the song may appeal to the fans of both the stars, it feels tackily added in the film. I even thought this might be dream scene seeing how the whole chain of sequences was edited. Strangely, it wasn't! Haven't we learnt anything from Happy New Year yet?
The Forced Cameos
Salman's wasn't the only tack cameo in the film. Everyone else was too. The much talked about party scene, featuring Juhi Chawla, Karishma Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Kajol, Alia Bhatt, Padukone and the late Sridevi, also felt very forced. Looking back at how organic the cameos in Om Shanti Om, don't understand what went wrong here, as all the actress looked like they were embarrassed to be even there. Also, why was Alia acting like a bimbo? Was that a tribute to all those jokes made on her expense?
Bauua Finds He Has a Baby (also Afia tries to Shoot Him Down)
After seeing sense and realising that he still loves Afia, he goes to USA to win her back there. He trespasses at an event where she is a speaker, and when a chimp she is training to send to Mars goes berserk, he uses the opportunity to woo her with a movie song. She immediately tries to shoot him with a gun, but misses because of her shaking hands. Later, when she doesn't listen to his explanations, he forcefully takes a baby from the hands of one of her family member to make her listen to him. It's then that Afia's father tells him that it is his baby, the result of their one-night stand and the reason why Afia goes back to meet him in India.
The Zero Gravity Sequence
A repentant Bauua tries again to meer Afia at her office in the space research centre (shot in NASA, but not NASA). At her office, Afia show Bauua his aukaat in her life by making the whole room zero gravity and then floats away from her chair to give him a dressing down. This is the most WTF dramatic of the year, hands down!
Bauua Replaces a Chimp
When the chimp becomes very uncooperative during the testing, Afia and her new fiance (R Madhavan) reluctantly agree to send a human to Mars. And since Bauua performs well in all their tests, he is the chosen subject, and the first human to go to Mars. Afia is not fond of the idea since she is sure he would run away. But Bauua makes the Mars mission his path to redemption. As for how can someone send an uneducated man to Mars, Madhavan's character had the answer - was that chimp a graduate from MIT? There you go, nit-pickers! Also, up yours, Matt Damon!
Bauua Goes To Mars
And yes, he goes to Mars, despite Afia running away from his marriage and giving him a chance to back down. Even though the idea still sounds ludicrous, the while shuttle sequence including when it comes out of Earth's atmosphere is gorgeous to look at.
Babita a Lesbian Now?
When the news of Bauua being sent to Mars is broadcasted all over the world, Babita catches the news when she is vacationing in a foreign country with what we think is her girlfriend. Or just a friend. Knowing her hatred for men after her ex being such an ass, we never know!
The Cliffhanger
In the epilogue, Afia tells the viewers that Bauua successfully lands on Mars, but the shuttle gets lost on the way home. And then the Chinese space station discovers that the shuttle has landed in a sea 15 years later. What's surprising is that Bauua is still alive and that he claims he is still of the same age as he was when he left Earth. We see the shuttle door open away, Bauua throws his gloves out and before we could see him, the screen goes black. So has he turned younger? Which wormhole did he got lost into? Did he meet Matthew McConaughey on the way?
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 21, 2018 04:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).