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Zero

21 December 2018Hindi2h 40m
ComedyDramaRomance
out of 10
Mixedlukewarm or divided
Monk Score · 26 scored reviews · 4 not rated

Khan shines, but weak writing and a chaotic second half drag Zero down.

Verdict tier Mixed, lukewarm or divided, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.

  • Praised: Shah Rukh Khan's central performance
  • Criticised: Weak screenplay and incoherent second half

Audience

User score 5.5 out of 10 from 14 ratings, Mixed
Read 10 audience reviews ↓

Not streaming in India

Top cast

Full cast & crew

Critic consensus

What 30 critics are saying

Critical reception for Zero is predominantly negative to mixed, with most reviewers finding the film's screenplay and narrative structure to be its central failure despite its ambitious premise. Shah Rukh Khan's committed performance as the vertically challenged Bauaa Singh drew consistent acknowledgment across reviews, as did the performances of the broader cast. The first half was frequently noted as more engaging than the second, with the film's sharp tonal shift into a space odyssey widely criticized for derailing the story's momentum and coherence. A minority of critics found merit in the film's thematic celebration of imperfection, but the majority concluded that weak writing and an unwieldy second half undermined whatever promise the earlier portions had shown.

How the 26 scores spread

4 not-rated reviews aren't plotted

Positive / mixed / negative reviews

Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10

AI-generated summary of 30 critic reviews · may contain errors

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From the papers

Critic reviews (30)

Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated

  1. Top critic

    Hindustan Times

    Film review ·

    Shah Rukh Khan measures up. The visual effects lack continuity and he looks more like a dwarf in some scenes than others, his deformity occasionally more pronounced while he looks like a spookily smooth tiny-Khan in other sequences. The actor, however, glosses over this with a dominating performance and tremendous energy. Bauaa Singh is a severely flawed character made irresistible by his pluck, and it's remarkable how much Khan brings to the part. And he remains the best lover in the business.

  3. Top critic

    NDTV

    Film review ·

    Zero, riding on SRK's back, reaches for the stars. But its astral ambitions are thwarted by a lack of imagination and genuine understanding of the minds of people struggling to ward off undeserved ridicule and earn rightful recognition. But whoever expects such niceties from a movie that rarely rises above the level of unalloyed bilge?

  4. Top critic

    Indian Express

    Film review ·

    Zero, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, fails spectacularly at giving us anything we can believe in, and we go from start to finish, with disbelief growing with each passing frame.

  5. SKJBollywoodNews

    Film review ·

    Zero works  . It celebrates  incompleteness as  no other movie in any language has ever done. Like the  film, BauaaSingh  isn't afraid to fail. He has the great  immortal Sridevi telling him it's okay to fail. I couldn't ask for more. Can you?

  6. IndiaTvNews

    Film review ·

    The second half might let you down a bit, despite good performances by the cast. Initially it was an enjoyable ride, but after Bauua decides to go on space exploration, it slows down the momentum. We love Aanand L Rai's world and would have warmly accepted more of his imperfect and endearing small-town characters. Also, the story could have been left open-ended.

  7. DNA India

    Film review ·

    Zero gets marks for Shah Rukh's experiment into a space less traveled.  If you're curious, go ahead, amuse yourelf.

  8. KoiMoi

    Film review ·

    All said and done, Shah Rukh Khan as Bauua Singh makes sure you leave the cinema halls with a smile on your face.  The first half has some of the wittiest dialogues to come out of Bollywood. Watch this one for stellar performances, arresting cinematography & uproarious dialogues.

  9. PinkVilla

    Film review ·

    Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif's fine performances are the backbones of the film Zero. The first half is a treat to watch while the second half is too long and stretched.

  10. Rediff

    Film review ·

    Still Zero is far from a misfire. Its cheerfully absurd aspirations are strewn in metaphors laying value to imperfections and SRK's gallery playing showmanship. This time he spreads more than his arms. He finds wings.

  11. Sify

    Film review ·

    Overall, while the film opens with an intriguing and engaging scene, the overall packaging despite being fantastical, lacks the punch.

  12. Times Of India

    Film review ·

    At one point, Zero dazzles with moments of colour and vibrancy, but then it also follows up with dull scenes that fail to launch the drama in the zone that it's supposed to be in. Some of the comedy moments between SRK and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub stand out, so does the song Mere Naam Tu with SRK dancing in a storm of colours. While the film has a wealth of references to Bollywood and its stars, these details don't compensate for a story that starts with a beautiful plot, but takes off on a bizarre ride. At first go, the film makes you light and easy, which is good, but the problem is that it doesn't really take you on that flight of entertainment, which you set out for.

  13. Bollywood Life

    Film review ·

    Zero has heart and humour. It also has some fine performances by its three superstar actors. Watch it if you are in mood for a different take on love with an intergalactic experience.

  14. FilmiBeat

    Film review ·

    Zero drives home an important point which we often tend to neglect in our pursue for being a perfect human being. While the film has its heart in the right place, even Shahrukh Khan's cute dimples fail to pick up the faltering second-half when the writing goes haywire.

  15. India Glitz

    Film review ·

    Zero is an ambitious project, has various sub stories etched into its 165-minute run time. Its no hidden secret that Bauua the loner in Meerut was more enjoyable. Why do Bollywood stars always need to take the train to stardom – refer to those hi-life suave stylish livelihood. Its time for SRK to go back to his good old acting days with a sense of audience connect, that's exactly where his strength lies.

  17. Zee News

    Film review ·

    Although the director Anand L Rai has had a glorious history, he has failed in executing the film. However, one thing that the whole team can be certainly proud of is the performances.  The whole star-cast has delivered their career-best performance in Zero and shouldered a delirious script.

  18. CatchNews

    Film review ·

    If you have nothing to do in the Christmas weekend and if you really think you can watch the leading cast without entertainment, then you can watch it. Besides, wait for the television premiere maybe it is made for that only.

  20. Mid-Day

    Film review ·

    Zero jerkily jostles between heartland, rustic realism, and a far-out romantic fantasy, vaguely along the lines of Shah Rukh Khan's Om Shanti Om. The only take-away is how tough it must've been to pull this off

From our readers

Audience reviews (10)

14 ratings · user score 5.5

  1. Ansh KhanDec 2018
    8/10

    One word it's s suparb movie... Romance entertainment and heart touching. Everything is in this movie. And acting is suparb..

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  2. Hema SinghDec 2018
    10/10

    Good movie. Its best performance by srk and anushka

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  3. IMF StarboyDec 2018
    10/10

    a must watch film for all the srk fans

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  4. Abhishek ParichhaDec 2018
    10/10

    Full of entertainment. SRK is superb....

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  5. Bindu CherungathDec 2018
    6/10

    Zero, a film by Aanand L Rai, was certainly one of the awaited films of the year. This film has attracted negative feedback from most of the critics, whereas, I felt the film deserved a better viewership and feedback. Any film, especially our Indian film, has its major ingredients in terms of theme, plot, screenplay, dialogues, emotions, music, visuals, direction, mode of story-telling, character sketching of the lead protagonists as well as other characters and most importantly the actors associated with the film and their portrayal of characters. Let me speak first about what does not work in the favour of the film – it is probably the fact that certain aspects of story seem unreal, not so logical and practical. Barring this, there are so many other factors which actually work in favour of the film. First of all, Shahrukh's energy, magic and charm are incredible. He infuses life into his character Bauvva Singh. Anushka projects her character with utmost sincerity. Katrina's screen space is less but one cannot deny her character's contribution to the plot. Zero has its heart in place, emotions play in its real flavour. There is love, betrayal, ambition, heartbreaks, sacrifice, repentance etc. Music and humour in the film also have enough power to engage the audience. So, the film deserves a better viewership and rating. Bauvva Singh (Shahrukh Khan) is a dwarf – 4.6 feet, who lives his life in Meerut with style. Bauvva is a movie buff and has a crush on the actress Babita (Katrina Kaif). He does not shy away from showering money on his friends Guddu (Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub) and gang when they read out the news of Babita's breakup. The banter between father Ashok (Tigmanshu) and son generate add lot of humour. He looks up at the sky, counts from 10 to zero to turn stationery stars into shooting ones. Bauvva is now 38 year old bachelor looking for an alliance. Through his matchmaker, he does come across Aafia (Anushka), a NSAR scientist suffering from cerebral palsy. Bauvva is absolutely unsympathetic in his approach towards Aafia, right from the beginning. What happens, when two individuals fall in love, who are not normal as per the norms existing in and around our world? A space scientist falling in love with hardly a 10th grade Buavva and then the triangle with Babita, an alcoholic actress, in the scene – the story unravels beyond this. The film wins here, since the plot does not succumb to any sympathy, the characters don't fall prey to the victim trap even though they all are misfits in the world as per the norms. How does the love between Bauvva and Aafia evolve? When and how does Babita's character get weaved into the plot ? Yes, Bauvva chooses to come back to his love Aafia and then how the story evolves further ? The film has special appearances by Madhavan and Bobby Deol too and how they become part of the story? Watch the film to know all these. The dialogues have the underlying tone of humour most of the time, yet breaking many set no

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  6. Harsh KumarDec 2018
    2/10

    I dont know what to say after seeing this movie but I will still try. I had expectations from Anand L Rai as he is one of my favorite directors in bollywood giving masterpieces like Ranjhanna and Tanu Weds Manu series. But after seeing the trailers I knew something was not right and my fear came to reality after watching the movie. The movie started ok-ok and was bearable through the 1st half as we are introduced to SRK's charachar and Anuskha's. But when the 2nd half started it lost all of the little charm it had in the 1st half that kept the movie going. Horrible story, editing and logic. I was unable to process that this was an Anand L Rai movie and was just sitting there and asking how bad it can go from here and then the sci-fi part of the movie kicked and it had just become one of "keep your brains at home before watching the movie". So overall I had high expectations and was highly dissapointed.

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