Little Zizou

[saregamapa]

Little Zizou

Humorous Surprise Comes in Little Package

Little Zizou – Humorous Surprise Comes in Little Package

Scriptwriter and photographer Sooni Taraporevala debuts as a director with this delightful Parsi tale Little Zizou made in Hindi, Gujarati and English.

It is a moving comment on the present day Parsi community living in Mumbai.

This is the story of two Parsi families – Khodaiji (self proclaimed religious leader) and Presswala (newspaper publisher). The story is told from the view point of an 11-year-old ‘Little Zizou’ Xerxes (Khodaiji’s youngest son), who is a die-hard fan of soccer player Zinedine Zidane. It takes us on a roller coaster ride to the unfolding of hostilities between the two families.

Xerxes’s elder brother Art, a talented artist, loves Pressvala’s daughter. Xerxes himself admires Pressvala’s wife. To make matters worse, Pressvala writes a critique of Khodaiji. Intense public reaction makes them arch rivals. The situation worsens even more with passage of time.

What will happen to the love story and the relations between the two families forms part of the rest of the movie. The viewer is so involved with this humorous story that resolving the conflict is not on their mind.

Mira Nair has always presented thoughtful movies. This one has an added dimension of entertainment. Watch out for John Abraham in a special appearance.

Enjoy the movie for its light hearted treatment and a peek in the Parsi world. After Welcome To Sajjanpur, Little Zizou is a humorous surprise that comes in little package. Little (Imaad Shah) will win your heart in a big way.

Cast: Boman Pressvala (Boman Irani), Cyrus II Khodaiji (Sohrab Ardeshir), Artaxerxes Khodaiji (Imaad Shah), Miss Patel (Shernaz Patel), Roxanne Pressvala (Zenobia Shroff),

Majestic Grandmother (Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal), Kunal (Kunal Vijaykar), Tito Fellini (Tknow Francorsi), Kurush Chief Disciple (Kurush Deboo), Alka Mehta (Kamal Sidhu),

Zenobia Pressvala (Dilshad Patel), Xerxes Khodaiji (Jahan Battivala), Liana Pressvala (Iyanah Battivala), Arjun (John Abraham) Special Appearance
Banner: Jigri Dost Productions & Studio 18

Presented By: Mira Nair & Studio 18
Distributor: Studio18
Produced By: Dinaz Stafford, Sooni Taraporevala & Vandana Malik
Written And Directed By: Sooni Taraporevala
Original Music: Bickram Ghosh
Executive Producer: Brad Gross
Director Of Photography: Himman Dhamija
Production Designer: Nitin Desai
Art Director: Amrita Singh
Editors: T.woody Richman & Kristina Boden
Costumes Designers: Arjun Bhasin & Shahnaz Vahanvaty
Director of Choreography: Shiamak Davar

A moving ad humorous commentary on Parsis in Mumbai

[SheeN]

Re: Little Zizou

Little Zizou is a colourful docu-feature on the alluring lifestyle of the Parsi community. But what stands out are the life-like performances by the ensemble cast — the kids are brilliant — and the gentle comic strain that carries the film forward with a chuckle and a grin. Don’t miss it. Rating: 3.5/5 - Nikhat Kazmi - Times of India.
After penning some of the most gripping scripts for crossover films like Salaam Bombay, Mississippi Masala and The Namesake, Sooni Taraporevala tries her hand at direction. And what a deft hand! For, her debut venture is a sheer delight, both stylistically and content-wise. It’s a small yet sensitive cry against fundamentalism — and hate-mongering fundamentalists — who have no place in a melting-pot society where anyone who raises the cry for racial or communal purity is akin to a modern-day Hitler.
Now that’s a lot to say in a world that’s dangerously veering towards orthodoxy and fanaticism. But Sooni does it with such delicacy and finesse that you leave the audi with a lightness in your step, a lilt on your lips and a lot of love in your heart, ready to embrace the world in all its diversity. That’s the power of this little big film that sees the world through the eyes of a nine-year-old and concludes with his fairy-tale view of angels and fairies winning over demons and devilish godmen.
Young Xerxes (Jahan Bativala) — known as little Zizou — doesn’t really like the life he is living. He hates his father, Cyrus Khodaiji (Sohrab Ardeshir), a Parsi fundamentalist who launches a Parsi Liberation Army to preserve the purity of the fast-dwindling community. The motherless kid plays truant from school and prefers to spend the day with Uncle Boman Pressvala (Boman Irani), a crusading journalist and surrogate mom, Aunt Roxanne (Xenobia Shroff), even though their young daughter (Inayah Bativala) hates his presence. The only other bright spots in his life are his elder brother, Art (Imaad Shah), a graphic novelist and Zinedane Zidane, his icon who must come to Mumbai, at least for his sake. He is sure his mother will manoeuvre this from heaven. The film is completely episodic in nature and takes you on a trip with Xerxes as he watches the power of love and tolerance, represented through Boman uncle’s little magazine, prevail upon his father’s fraud and fundamentalist movement.
At one level, the film also works as a colourful docu-feature on the alluring lifestyle of the Parsi community. But what stands out are the life-like performances by the ensemble cast — the kids are brilliant — and the gentle comic strain that carries the film forward with a chuckle and a grin. Don’t miss it.

Source: Times Of India