Director Aanand L Rai and writer Himanshu Sharma with Zero stars Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif. (Source: Instagram/Shah Rukh Khan)Filmmaker Aanand L Rai has always been known for presenting rooted and relatable stories, but much of the credit for the same goes to his frequent collaborator, writer Himanshu Sharma.
Aanand and Himanshu have been working as a team for quite a long time now and their collaborations have usually resulted in films that have been loved by the audience. With Zero, the two have joined hands with Shah Rukh Khan and we can only hope that the curse of being star struck does not bog them down (Case in point: Imtiaz Ali in Jab Harry Met Sejal).
Also Read | Zero director Aanand L Rai: I had the idea before Tanu Weds Manu Returns
With Tanu Weds Manu, the writer-director duo gave a film that was not on high on promotions but worked on word of mouth. When the film released in 2011, having a foul-mouthed female protagonist who isn’t shy of being her unabashed self, was still new to the Hindi film audience. The duo surprised us and they were welcomed with open arms.
But this wasn’t a one-off incident. The duo recreated their magic in Dhanush starrer Raanjhanaa. Such is the power of their writing and direction that even supporting characters played by Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub and Swara Bhasker became memorable. It wasn’t just the leads that we were talking about after the film, the dialogues left us in splits and as we know, it’s the quotable dialogues that make a film timeless.
By the time 2015’s Tanu Weds Manu Returns released, the duo had already established themselves and they delivered here as well. Making a sequel that is just as good as the original, they performed a near impossible task.
Himanshu Sharma is also a part of Aanand L Rai’s Colour Yellow Productions. He has worked closely on the banner’s films like Shubh Mangal Savdhan, Manmarziyaan, and Nil Battey Sannata among others.
With Zero, the duo is collaborating for the first time with Shah Rukh Khan. Here, SRK plays a vertically challenged man, Katrina Kaif plays a movie star and Anushka Sharma plays a scientist who has cerebral palsy. Going by the trailer of Zero, the makers have told us just enough about the film to intrigue us and we are waiting to watch how the power of strong writing combined with star power fares at the theaters.
Zero releases on December 21.
