'Size Zero' stretches an NGO-esque idea into a plot for the second half. That is an undoing, although the good lines that keep flowing in now and then add to the harmless flab. The script is not without its hiccups, but the takeaway is such that you feel light rather than heavy in the end. The narration throws up its 'sweety' moments in the form of the main character's poetic relationship with a weighing machine and more, not in the least in the form of those MM Keeravani songs that range from a celebration of fattiness to the one which presents the bland 'Stalin' idea (remember the tell-three-people-and-they-will-tell-another-three?) lyrically.
Sweety (Anushka) is the daughter of Urvashi, a single mother, and for a change, she has a funny brother (played by Master Bharath) and a playful grandpa (played by Gollapudi). Her overweight is seen as a problem as she won't be able to get married any soon. Sweety takes things in her stride because she believes that beauty lies inside, until it becomes tough for her to just remain someone's friend and nothing more. Arya plays Abhi, a documentary maker who has tied up with an NGO to raise public awareness about cleanliness (75 pc of NGO members from other countries are frauds, Anushka quotes a statistic, in one of the moments of situational comedy). Sweety, who falls for Abhi at first sight, royally rejects Abhi as her groom, in a role reversal of sorts. From then, it is a funny roller-coaster involving the lead pair, complete with Abhi's ambivalent feelings and Sweety's oscillating emotions.
Narration-wise, the film has its moments of inconsistency; when you expect the rom-com to continue its lyrical-cum-musical streak, the second half sees the prime characters engaged in a creative campaign against quick fixes for slimming. This rather bland idea is punctuated with dialogues that lose the zing, but the film bounces back in a climax that has Urvashi and Anushka making us forget all the superficiality.
Prakash Raj as Sathyanand owns a slimming company offering spurious weight-loss solutions. After a first half that gives a high with his excellent performance by Anushka (watch her taking all the repartees from Master Bharat, Urvashi and others, watch her admiring Arya, watch her breaking into a dance, watch her being insecure when Sonal Chouhan is around), the second half presents elements that are a throwback to the era when films offered us elements like serious issues being resolved through spontaneous agitations that bordered on the asinine; this film is at least less astounding in that a relatively elite issue is addressed in a believable fashion, barring that fight-to-finish where sting journalism is employed as a quick fix.
Many pluses of the movie include visual beauty (credit goes to the cinematographer Nirav Shah and the art director), witty dialogues (sample these: ilanti figures ki visalu enduku istharo, retire aina circus kothi la undhi, mee enthusiasm choostunte India lo evarini toilets clean cheyinchela leru), and Keeravani's music that is better on screen.
Surely, this one is Anushka's one of the best performances; she acts in yet another heroine-oriented film without making us become conscious that the male lead is playing second fiddle to her. Be it with Urvashi, Arya, Master Bharat, or Gollapudi, she strikes instant rapport with all. Besides shining in delivering light-veined repartees, she does the sentimental part well ("Just friend ga undi alisipoyanu"), emoting her dejection at being seen as a burdensome daughter.
Arya looks rather off-colour; his voice is more like Sharwanand's. Sonal Chouhan and Adivi Sesh pass the muster. Prakash Raj has a role with negative shades, and watching him in a fraud's role, quoting Sri Sri and Jiddu Krishnamurthy doesn't give a high. It is a treat to watch Gollapudi's comeback. Brahmanandam is just about OK.
Nagarjuna, Tamannah, Jeeva, Hansika, Rana Daggubati, Sri Divya are seen in guest appearances.
Editor Praveen Pudi cuts it to size.
Verdict: 'Size Zero' works because of the performances, feel-good narration, visual treat and music.
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