Perhaps what is most endearing about the film is the kind message of it all: don’t rely on jingoism or silly charms and superstitions or even hate to win or play the game. Play the game because you love the game and enjoy the game itself. Watch the film for some enjoyable laughs, cute moments, and perhaps a lovely date night.

Strangely while the film is titled ‘The Zoya Factor’, it’s the ‘Dulquer Salmaan’ factor which works in its favour. If you are looking out for some easy, breezy watch, this Dulquer-Sonam starrer could be your pick for this weekend.

THE ZOYA FACTOR is a feel-good popcorn entertainer that works chiefly due to concept, treatment, humour and performances. At the box office, it has the potential to grow dramatically due to a good word of mouth.

…the movie lacks one major thing that matters above all in such films – entertainment! Few earnest performances in cast and crew but nothing that makes the movie worth watching.

…as a whole, the film is a mix of hits and misses. It leaves you entertained, but if you were told you could nap instead, you would consider the option.

Wannabe show boat meets dreamboat in The Zoya Factor, a movie that both suffers from miscasting and benefits from perfect casting.

The Zoya Factor could have been a thoroughly enjoyable comedy. It ends up being a scrappy, erratic knock where a few crisp strokes are hopelessly outnumbered by a host of ungainly heave-hos. The film does not hit the sweet spot often enough to translate into either a truly rousing cricket film or a memorably moving love story.

A rom-com centred on cricket would seem like a winning pitch. Sonam K. Ahuja’s new release is less ambitious about pushing an unconventional theme than her last, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Lagaa, which makes this film more box-office-friendly and far more obvious in what it sets out to narrate.

For a rom-com which needs to be light on its feet, hitting fours and sixes as it goes along, the writing is not as supple as it should have been. Too many slog overs here.

On the whole, the film doesn’t ask you to apply your brains. If you are a cricket fan and enjoy chick flicks, Sonam’s over-the-top act and Dulquer’s good looks will hold your attention. A good watch with your friends where the fun lasts only till the film does.

There’s a smarter, sharper film somewhere inside this one, with insightful things to say about fandom and celebrity and superstition. As it stands, however, The Zoya Factor offers little cheer to those invested in the return of the Hindi romantic comedy or the halfway-decent post-Lagaan cricket film.

Although more class monitor than captain, the Dulquer factor is the only saving grace of this bland confection. His charisma and cricket are up to the mark.  

The Zoya Factor is disappointing, as there was a lot more that could have been done with it. It could have been more entertaining and crisp, or even a wholesome romantic comedy. In the end, it just feels like a lot of watery Maggi without masala.

The film has a winning premise, just like the book it has been inspired by, Anuja Chauhan’s The Zoya Factor, but Abhishek Sharma and Chauhan herself, fail to give the same magic and madness to the adaptation. It reeks of redundancy and gratuitousness. Zoya’s love for firecrackers, a scene involving old-age romance, Salmaan’s rivalry with Angad Bedi, who has issues of his own, all merely skim the surface, never succeeding to care for these characters, let alone rooting. The blame then goes to the weak acting, particularly by the leads, who try everything to make the charm and the chemistry work, alas all in vain.

Sonam-Dulquer starrer is a fun but faltering swipe at hyper deshbhakti and superstition

The Zoya Factor is a fun, frothy film that pits superstitions versus strategy and self-belief versus luck. And delightfully uses India’s cricket craze to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining film.

Fortune favours the brave and this one with all the talent it’s equipped with plus ‘The Zoya Factor’ certainly seems to hold the promise of box office success.