The Zoya Factor Review – Lucky Charm?!

In 2008, Anuja Chauhan’s novel The Zoya Factor was released to great reception from the critics and readers alike. The Protagonist, Zoya Solanki, works in an ad agency and was born on the day India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983. This makes her lucky for cricket – the team dining with her wins. Zoya accidentally becomes the lucky charm for the Indian Cricket team while she falls in love with the captain – Nikhil Khoda.

The success of the book was because its charming and lighthearted tone. It was the perfect marriage of a romantic story with India’s favorite pastime – Cricket. Unfortunately, The Zoya Factor adapted from that book does not do justice to the book. The movie does stay true to the book’s story in the broad sense but deprives the audience of all the original’s charm. It is a decent watch as a romantic movie but is neither fresh nor very funny. Perhaps, audience that have not read the book might appreciate this movie more.

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The music of The Zoya Factor is mediocre and forgettable – a rare miss from Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. One of the biggest qualms is the sheer number (and method) of advertisements and product placements is staggering. It makes this seem like a long advertisement break at times. The writing is uneven – sharp and funny at times but drags on sometimes. This movie could have gained from having a little shorter runtime.

Sonam Kapoor has played this exactly identical role many times (probably in every movie except Neerja). To be fair to Sonam, when she did try something new – she did not find success at box office. Her portrayal of  Zoya is fine but very one note, so unlike the heroine as written by Chauhan. She does get a few funny lines – one where she is opposite her real life father comes to mind. Her chemistry with Dulquer has some sparks and I would love to see them cast opposite each other again.

One of the best parts of the movie is its other lead. Dulquer Salmaan is impressive as Nikhil Khoda – charming and arrogant in the right mixture. His adorable on-screen presence makes this movie worth watching. He displays immense potential for traversing into Hindi films and be accepted by the audience. Angad Bedi as the villain is fairly shallow and one dimensional. The remaining cast provides adequate support but there are no stand out performances.

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Unfortunately, the story falters because it is unable to translate the charm of the book to the silver screen completely. The Zoya Factor had immense potential because the source material is so delightful but is only able to deliver on about half. Dulquer Salmaan is the shining star of this movie and he hits it out of the park.

Rating – 2.5/5 | Grade – C+

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