Film: LITTLE ZIZOU
Rating: 1.5/5
Banners: Studio 18, Jigri Dost Productions
Cast: Boman Irani, Sohrab Ardeshir, Shernaz Patel, Shiamak Davar, John Abraham, Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, Imaad Shah, Kunal Vijaykar, Kamal Sidhu
Music: Bickram Ghosh
Cinematography: Sooni Taraporevala
Director: Sooni Taraporevala
Producers: Dina Stafford, Sooni Taraporevala
Release Date: March 13, 2009    

Story :
An interesting tale, the story is seen from the eyes of a 11 year old Parsi boy Xerxes (Jahan) who is an avid football freak and his dream is to meet his idol, Zinadine Zidane. He does not have his mother but feels that she is like his guardian angel from above. His father Cyrus II (Sohrab) pretends to be a faith healer but then he is a fake and Boman Preswala (Boman), editor of a press is always trying to expose Cyrus. Their clash leads to a duel between faiths and leads to some stressful moments. On the other hand, Xerxes's brother Artaxerxes (Imaad) is busy trying to win the heart of Zenobia (Dilshad) and her sister Liana (Iyanah) hates Xerxes to the core. With so many characters, there are so many things happening but is Xerxes able to realize his dream or is there a bigger issue that shrouds the Parsi community? All this forms the rest of the story.

Presentation :
The director has come up with an apt storyline when it comes to the backdrop but then the narrative had flaws which were obvious at many places. The script was okay, the screenplay could have been better. Music was touching the situations very well and the cinematography was apt. Full marks to the art department for coming up with a perfect Parsi community set up and the editing should have been more sharper on key scenes. The other departments were just average. The cast was alright with Boman Irani coming up with a spectacular performance, Zenobia was beautiful and graceful, Sohrab was effective, Cyrus was not used to the fullest, Mahabanoo was impressive, Iyanah was expressive. Others did their bit to add value.

Conclusion :
The film takes off on an interesting note and with the element of child as the main subject, it looked quite promising with the mention of Zidane. While the first half has been interesting with all the characters and various shades, the second half loses focus and many things are left halfway. The film could have been lot better if the script was handled crisply and the content was more focused instead of moving away from the main subject. The film is for selective audience and though not very impressive, those who are aware of the Parsi lifestyle and thinking might relish it.

Bharatstudent Verdict : Passable Parsi flick, nothing special about it...