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Little Zizou Reviews

some city United States of America
My Crazy Merry Parsi Upbringing
Apr 21, 2009 11:00 AM2384 Views

"Sir I don't know the Marathi word for subtlety", epitomizes the subtle humor abundant in Little Zizou, a film about two feuding Bombay Parsi men and their families. My often complaint with the well-made movies of Mira Nair are that they are heavy handed. Her scriptwriter Sooni Taraporewalla's maiden venture is an unusually eclectic comedy, one that brings forth comparisons with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".


The movie is narrated through the eyes of little Xerxes, the motherless son of a Parsi evangelist Cyrus Khodaiji. Xerxes has a passion for soccer player Zinedine Zidane, hence the name Little Zizou. His elder brother Artaxerxes is engrossed in creating cartoon like illustrations and building a Boeing 747-400 simulator with a group of zany friends. Artaxerxes also has a soft corner for neighbor Zenobia, the daughter of Cyrus's arch-rival newspaper editor Boman Presswala. Boman and his wife Roxanne have two daughters, the elder Zenobia and the younger Liana.


Apart from the main theme of conflict between the religious con-man Cyrus and the liberal editor Boman, Little Zizou provides a warm glimpse into the lifestyle of Bombay Parsis. Shot mostly in English and Gujarati with some funny doses of Marathi and Hindi, this movie has a relaxed style mixed in with several episodes of eclectic humor. Although mainly a movie about Parsis, its theme of religious conflict is universal in nature. Some brilliant acting combined with interesting music and topped with skillful direction makes this a must-watch movie.


Boman Irani steals the show as the liberal newspaper owner-editor Boman Presswala, in more ways than one. Watching him dance is a feast for the eyes; he appropriately deserves the moniker "Parsi Travolta". In a promo Sooni Taraporewalla exclaims "After watching Boman most women over 35 would want to marry him". I cannot speak for any women (much less one over 35), but I wish I had a fraction of the charm, coolness and grace he exudes. He is utterly convincing and funny as a liberal Dad attempting to knock some sense into coming-of-age elder daughter Zenobia (Dilshad Patel). The rapport shared between him and his wife Roxanne (Zenobia Shroff) is another treat to watch. And finally, his confrontation scenes with Cyrus Khodaiji (Sohrab Ardeshir) are immaculate.


Imaad Shah as Artaxerxes delivers an intelligent finely nuanced performance. He is convincing as the slightly tormented geeky teenager/young adult. Especially worthy is his depiction of being rejected by Zenobia, and truly outstanding is the final confrontation with his father.


Zenobia Shroff as Roxanne effortlessly delivers a natural performance, one that does not miss a beat. She is equally at ease whether it is warm and fussy with Xerxes (Jahan Bativala), a little strict with Liana (Iyanah Bativala), or slightly indulgent with Boman. The two little kids Jahan & Liana Bativala are adorable and a true find. They share an amazing chemistry with each other, and each play a different detailed character. Naturally Jahan has the bigger role, and he is superb at displaying longing for his dead mother, excels at fighting and bonding with his brother, and is in his element gaining favors from Aunt Roxy. Iyanah is at her best throwing irritated killer stares at Jahan.


Shernaz Patel as Miss Patel the assistant of Cyrus Khodaiji is absolutely hilarious and overshadows her boss. This is really the movie's Achilles heel, the competent but not great performance of Sohrab Ardeshir as the dictatorial evangelist Cyrus Khodaiji. Sohrab tries hard, sometimes too hard, but just does not reach the necessary heights. Try as he might, and possibly due to his inexperience, he cannot shake the impression that in reality he is good at heart. What this role needed was someone more capable at playing an outwardly rule-bound and old fashioned religious purist but inwardly a con-man, someone such as Naseeruddin Shah. In Naseer's hands the confrontations between Cyrus and Boman would have taken on a whole new dimension. As it stands, these confrontations are slightly insipid; with both Boman and Imaad towering over Sohrab.


Sooni Taraporewalla makes a commendable entry into direction; she handles her cast with great skill. Her writing prowess is clearly on display, with numerous intelligently etched scenes. Some drawbacks are her letting the movie be a little too indulgent at times, and the inability to extract an outstanding performance from Sohrab Ardeshir. However, taking into account her Harvard & NYU background; perhaps this was the real subtle message all along ---


"Wish Religious Extremists/Con-Men were this Inept".


Some cool, funny and eclectic incidents from the movie.


1) Artaxerxes exclaiming in a terrible Russian accent "The Russians are coming. Everybody from street". Adapted from a classic Alan Arkin line in the 1960's Hollywood movie "The Russians are Coming ...".


2) On their first date, Artaxerxes taking Zenobia to a romantic wine dinner on a boat off the Gateway of India.


3) The subtle ending to the post party dance.


4) Brought in to fix a Boeing 747-400 simulator, the justification of Makarand the IITian's qualifications.


5) Upon the newly arrived good-looking women accurately recognizing the Boeing 747-400 simulator, Artaxerxes's foot-in-mouth question "Are you a stewardess ?" and its emphatic put down answer.


PS --- I still do not know the Marathi word for subtlety.


My Rating 3.5/5


Mumbai India
Must Watch
Mar 16, 2009 03:28 PM2510 Views

I have a peeve with the makers of Little Zizou - why are the trailers so bad? For such a wonderful movie couldn't they made the trailers a little more interesting? Even I could have made them better trailers than the ones airing now .


As the trailers tell you - Little Zizou is a movie about the parsis, made by the parsis. Most of the cast - with the exception of Imaad Shah - are parsis. So is the director Sooni Taraporewala. But the appeal of the movie is universal - mainly because it says what it has to say so humorously.


The movie is about Cyrus II Khodaiji - a self proclaimed religious scholar and healer who fancies himself as the next messiah. As is the rule of the world, crazies like him attract more media attention and soon his'Back to purity' BTP campaign has a large fan following. It is also about Boman Presswala(played by Boman Irani), editor of the Parsi newspaper Rustam-e-Shorab. He is the sane voice of the community and just doesn't miss an opporunity to ridicule Khodaiji in his paper.


Caught in between this are Khodaiji's two sons - Xerxes and Artaxerxes(Imaad Shah - Naseeruddin Shah's son). Having lost his mother at childbirth, 11 year old Xerxes is an unloved kid as his father is busy playing messiah. The only thing that he really loves is football - more specifically Zinedane Zidane(or Zizou). And more than home he prefers spending time at Boman Presswala's home - where Roxy aunty(Boman'swie) mothers the poor motherless boy. And this irritates Boman's younger daughter Liana no end - she thinks her mother likes little Zizou more.


His elder brother Artxerxes - or Art - is a soft-spoken young man with a very artistic hand - and no love lost for his father. He is a graphic artist who keeps sketching interesting scenes he encounters everyday in his artbook. And these drawings are interspersed liberally in the movie. He also prefers Boman's home more - because of Boman's other daughter Xenobia.


But this equilibrium is shattered when Khodaiji becomes obsessed with preventing foreigners - Russians, Brazilians etc - from adopting the Zoraster faith. He even forms an army called Parsi Liberation Organization to defend the Parsi faith and from here things go downhill in the lives of everyone around him.


Soon' Taraporevala has crafted a simple yet entertaining world - all from the eyes of LittleZizou. Both the kids - Zizou and Liana - perform superbly, especially Zizou. He is endearing and evokes sympathy, without seemingly making any effort. And Liana is your irritating younger sister, who will spill all your secrets. But the star of the show is undoubtedly Boman Irani. He is so full of life its a joy watching him - especially during the'Italiano Mamu' song!


There are a lot of other characters in bit roles throughout the movie - including Cyrus Broacha, John Abraham and Shiamak Davar - its more like all the parsis you ever saw in any form of media. But they all gel together amazingly well - mainly because somehow, the director seems to have convinced these people that there isn't a camera on them. All the lead actors perform so naturally as if they were actually leading their normal lives in some Parsi colony!


Little Zizou is a must watch because of the wonderful humour and the subtle message cloaked effectively in all that fun - about the conflict between the liberals and the religious zealots. Watch it to remind yourself just why Boman Irani is so fabulous - and for a little more insight into the world of parsis


mayuresh1704MouthShut Verified Member
Pune India
Of the Parsis, by the Parsis
Mar 15, 2009 04:58 PM2606 Views

The movie is centered on two antagonistic Parsi families which are always daggers drawn at each other. One is a newspaper press owner and other is a doctor aspiring to be in Politics. The doctor is very orthodox, conservative and a vehement advocate of intra-community-only Parsi marriages in order to preserve the "purity of blood". Whereas the publisher is of more liberal stand.


There is a cold war between the two that leads the publisher to near bankruptcy thanks to some politics played by the doctor. But ultimately the last ditched attempt of the publisher, in the form of articles published in last print of his newspaper, succeeds as it creates awareness in the Parsi community about the selfish motives of the doctor for acquiring political power.


I believe that it is a quite nice movie and atleast something different has been attempted instead of going for a typical'formula'. Almost all characters as well as the real actors themselves are Parsi. This is quite an innovative and novel concept and must be appreciated.


In Marathi as well as Bollywood movies, there has been a sort of tradition to include 1-2 Parsi characters to introduce some light comedy and fun. I have always felt these characters really bring alive even the dullest of the movies, and have a very high entertainment value. So it is quite entertaining to watch a movie like this that throws light on the Parsi community, their unique culture and customs etc. Parsi people seem to have a good sense of humour, and have been known to be one of the richest communities in India, and one of the most successful in business / entrepreneurship. They are a living testimony to the philosophy that in order to be rich, one must be happy, have good sense of humour and strive to bring a smile on other people's face.


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Little Zizou
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Humorous Surprise Comes in Little Package
Mar 15, 2009 03:27 PM2424 Views

Little Zizou – Humorous Surprise Comes in Little Package


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


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


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


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


What willhappen to the love story and the relations between the two familiesforms part of the rest of the movie. The viewer is so involved withthis humorous story that resolving the conflict is not on their mind.


MiraNair has always presented thoughtful movies. This one has an addeddimension of entertainment. Watch out for John Abraham in a specialappearance.


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), RoxannePressvala (Zenobia Shroff),


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


ZenobiaPressvala (Dilshad Patel), Xerxes Khodaiji (Jahan Battivala), LianaPressvala (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


Rating/Time:/90 minutes


Little Zizou: A Must Watch Little Big Film
Mar 13, 2009 03:32 PM2166 Views

Sometimes a small film can say so much more than an overtly hyped film selling Dollor Chaap Indian poverty in lieu of a bagfull of Oscars. Sooni Taraporewalla's Little Zizouis that little big entertaining film about the miniscule percentage of Parsis in Mumbai caught up in the reformist-conventional mindset that can find echoes in any religion of the world. In other words, it's a film about human plight cocooned in the everyday existence and you are treated to a buffet of humour and heartfelt wistfulness all at the same time.


Boman Presvala (Boman Irani) brings out a century old daily Sohrab-e-Rustam where he criticises the archaic practices of PLO (Parsi Liberation Organistion) chief Sohrab II Khodaiji (Sohrab Ardeshir, excellent). Khodaiji plays a God to his servile bunch of 'followers' and is ably 'managed' by his personal assistant Miss Patel (Shernaz Patel, delightful as usual). But his own sons Artaxerxes (Imaad Shah, powerful yet restrained) and Jahan Bativala (what a revelation, Darsheel Safari is passe) are a deprived lot as they've lost their mother and obviously the 'God' has more time for his pupil rather than his own kids.


Boman's loving wife (Zenobia Shroff, beautiful and warm) and two daughters Dilshad Patel (pretty, suitably coquetish) and little Iyanah Bativala (absolute natural) are well ensconced in happiness till the 'God' plays truant and their newspaper is forcibly shut down.


Little Zizouis a film that nudges and winks at you. The language of communication may be English and Gujarati but it is more Indian than any Hindi or any regional language film can ever be. Also, one must accept that there are a huge number of people around who speak the Queen's language without being pretentious at all. Why smirk then!


The wry sense of humour makes this film a veritable treat. The interactions between Boman and his daughters are hilarious. Also Khodaiji's sexual escapades garbed in the facade of spiritual healing elicits laughs too. The best part about the film apart from perfect acting by all is its screenplay by Sooni Taraporewala. Yes, the screenplay writer of such films as Salaam Bombay and Mississippi Masala is in top form.


The narrative style of little Jahan's admiration for Zinedine Zidane (also known as Zizou) has been woven in a novel manner throughout the film. How Imaad pursues his dreams and in spite of road blocks finds his own destiny gives the message of hope (and we can do with loads of it in these trying times). Most importantly, one must applaud Boman Irani for choosing to do a film like this. He is brilliant in each and every frame. Be it the love dances with his gorgeously supportive wife or determined fight against an imbecile system, Irani (a Parsi himself) enacts his part with a lot of conviction.


Those of you who'd be going in for John Abraham, then the hunk has an extremely small blink-n-miss role. But nevertheless, it's good that he supported this venture with his star presence. Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal as Boman's mother-in-law chips in with a delightful cameo. She is symbolic of the upright Parsis who take the country's law far more seriously than those who clamour to be its rightful-heirs. Background music is a wonderful fusion of Indian percussion and vintage Latio beats. Mambo is special.


Sooni Taraporewala should be acclaimed for directing and producing a film which on the surface is a niche film but is more universal than most films produced anywhere in the world. She makes all her characters so very real that one feels as if you've seen or met them in person. Little Zizou is a must watch film. Don't miss it for anything.


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