Little Zizou
- Director
- Sooni Taraporevala
- Studio
- Jigri Dost Productions
- Release Date
- 12 May 2009
- Running Time
- 96 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹2.75 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹1.63 Cr
Review
"Little Zizou" attempts to juggle too many narrative threads—a child's sporting aspirations, a forbidden romance, corporate rivalry, and spiritual fraud—without giving any sufficient depth or coherence. Director Abhishek Dudhaiya, whose average body of work sits at 7.5/10, stumbles here with uneven pacing that dwells too long on the antagonistic posturing between Khodaiji and Pressvala while shortchanging the emotional arcs that could have anchored the film. The performances feel scattered; what should be a potent central conflict between a charlatan father and an idealistic journalist becomes melodramatic rather than dramatically compelling, and the subplot involving young Xerxes and his football obsession gets lost amid the family feud mechanics. The film's box office performance—₹1.63 crore with a -41% ROI—reflects audience indifference, though one must separate commercial failure from artistic merit.
Yet there are glimmers of genuine charm in how the script occasionally finds levity in the absurdity of its premise, and the chemistry between certain supporting characters suggests the filmmaker knew what tone he was reaching for, even if execution faltered. The climactic reconciliation feels unearned, however, arriving through convenience rather than character transformation, and the resolution regarding Art and Zenobe's romance lacks the emotional payoff the runtime has earned. Dudhaiya demonstrates competent direction in isolated sequences, but "Little Zizou" needed eith
Storyline
So this movie is about a fun-loving eleven-year-old kid named Xerxes, nicknamed "Little Zizou," who's basically obsessed with football and dreams of meeting his hero Zinedine Zidane in Mumbai. His older brother Art is a creative guy who makes drawings come to life in wild ways, and their dad Khodaiji is this self-righteous guy who makes money by playing spiritual advisor to gullible people. Meanwhile, Art's secretly crushing on Zenobe, who happens to be the daughter of their dad's biggest enemy—a newspaper publisher named Boman Pressvala who actually thinks for himself and questions things.
Things get pretty messy when Pressvala publishes a harsh article criticizing Khodaiji, and suddenly the whole city's talking about it. The two families end up going head-to-head, with their dad shutting down Pressvala's office and all kinds of chaos breaking loose. Through all this drama, some unexpected friendships start forming between the two families, including Xerxes finally bonding with Liana, Pressvala's younger daughter who wasn't too keen on him before.
The story basically becomes about whether these two powerful men can set aside their egos and get along, and whether Khodaiji might actually become a better person. There's also the question of whether Art ever gets a real chance with Zenobe, or if the family feud keeps them apart forever.
