Little Zizou * Boman Irani, directed by Sooni Taraporewala

[Darshana]

Just a note to get this started - this debuted at the MIAAC Festival in New York this weekend with just about its whole cast there along with Sooni Taraporewala, its director.

It is Sooni's first film as director.  She has written the scripts for many of Mira Nair's movies, including The Namesake.  She said she did this one right now so that she could be a filmmaker who "debuted at 50." 

This film is charm all the way.  It's about assorted Parsis in Bombay, and though it has a nice story, it's the atmosphere of the film which is its exceptionally winning feature - I wanted to sit through it again right away just to look some more at all these old houses, inside and out, with their accumulations of odd souvenirs assembeled by eccentric inhabitants.

The story is about a small boy whose mom died when he was born, and whose dad is a Zoroastrian right-wing nutjob involved with "purity" and the like.  An older brother, played by Nasseeruddin Shah's son, is an anchor, if eccentric himself, and the warm household of the neighbors, played by Boman Irani as a newspaperman (Presswalla) and his wife who understands the boy's motherlessness, is important too.

Boman is wonderful as always, and the theatre was small enough (and I had a supportive friend with me too) that I felt comfortable saying hello to him.  He is very tall!! and just as I'd imagine him to be - I'd find it easy to talk to  him, he's affable and of course intelligent.  Music for the film includes "Mambo Italiano" and "That's Amore."  (I asked a question afterward about "the Perry Como songs" -- Boman said they were "Parsi Como songs.")

The kids in the movie are Sooni's kids.

Don't miss a chance to see this on a big screen, for a visit to wonderful world inside Bombay.  And - almost all the actors in it are actual Parsis (I guess the Shah kid is not, right?  unless Mrs S is one).   And the mother of Zenobia, Boman's movie wife (played by Dilshad Patel), is played by the actress' actual mother. 

film site   http://www.littlezizouthemovie.com/littlezizou1.html

PS special appearance by a big favorite star . . .  you might be able to guess who from the website

PPS and it's mostly in English, which I guess is what Parsis mostly speak.  Like Being Cyrus.

[mrs. k]

Nice review Darshana - sounds like it was a fun event.  Any pics?

[etu]

Thank you, Darshana, for starting this thread. I've been meaning to do it.

This is my favorite movie of 2008 so far, and I expected it would be even before I saw it. Little Zizou has a significant message, but delivers it in such a light, fanciful way that I was totally drawn in.

Boman Irani was more or less himself in this movie -- earnest, playful, thoughtful. This may be Zenobia Shroff's first movie, at least according to IMDB. She plays his wife. Ironically, Boman's real wife's name is Zenobia, and his character's daughter is named Zenobia, too. His name is -- guess what? -- Boman.

(Darshana, I think Dilshad Patel plays Boman's daughter Zenobia. The actress Zenobia Shroff did say that her mother appears somewhere in the film, but it's a small part. The two little children, Jahan and Iyanah Battivala , friends in the movie, are real-life brother and sister and you are right: they're Sooni's kids. And Imaad Shah's sister -- Naseer's daughter -- has a brief appearance, too.)

The music is indeed a highlight of the movie. I love the little theme tune that you can hear on the website best.

Here are some snaps from Sunday night:

Boman Irani and Zenobia Shroff:


Sooni Taraporevala and Iyanah Battivalah:


Jahan and Iyanah Battivalah:


If I recall correctly, they have a distribution deal for India that starts in January and do not have a distributor yet for the U.S. I really, really hope this gets picked up and seen by many. They were very worried that non-Parsis wouldn't understand the movie. I think anyone could love it, but non-Parsi marketers may have a hard time seeing its potential.

Edited to fix the part about the kids and link to Sooni's bio: http://www.soonitaraporevala.com/bio.html
I knew I'd love this movie in part because of its whimsical website and in part because Sooni is author of several of Mira Nair's screenplays, such as Salaam Bombay (a favorite), Mississippi Masala, and The Namesake.

[mrs. k]

Here are some snaps from Sunday night:

Boman Irani and Zenobia Shroff:

wah - nice pics, etu!  Is Bomran wearing a shark-skin suit?  It's so shiny!!!

[Darshana]

Boman's suit was shiny and beautiful - I'd say some kind of mostly-silk blend that probably does not wrinkle as he looked perfect.

Etu thanks if you can figure out who's who.  If Zenobia Shroff was playing the wife, Zenobia, then it was her mom who played her mom.  In the movie, Boman's wife, her little girl, and the little boy who's the main character go to visit Mrs boman's Mom in the rundown seaside hotel where she lives.  She is "pleasingly plump." tends toward the dramatic in her clothing style, has blonde hair I thnk, and was my maybe second or 3rd favorite person in the movie.

Great pix.  Mine not so good tho I'll take another look.

[bella]

Great write-ups and snaps  Was Mira Nair there? Q & A after the movie?

[Darshana]

I didn't see Mira at this screening, though I saw her at other things in the festival.  There was also a screening of this one for donors, a private party at another location, I am guessing Mira went to that one.

In the discussion afterward, Sooni said her main ideas in making the emovie were

1 - "I'm fed up with people hijacking religion" -- to use it for low/political/anti-religious ends and

2 - "I believe that after people die, they are still with us."

When she had trouble getting dates for shooting from Boman Irani,  "Like many people in Bollywood," "she resorted to the underworld" -- meaning, she made Mira Nair call him up and pin him down!!

[Marbs84]

I would love to see this movie.

It bagged two awards in last month NY's Film Festival.

http://www.indiantunes.co.in/hindi/filmnews/fullstory/8268/Little+Zizou+bags+two+top+awards+at+major+NY+Film+Festival

It was nominated at the Asian Film Fest in Singapore

http://www.businessofcinema.com/news.php?newsid=10838

[etu]

I've double-posted this link of a lovely Tehelka article about three debutante women directors' views of Mumbai, including Sooni Taraporevala, Zoya Akhtar (Luck By Chance) and Kiran Rao.
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=hub070209the_gold.asp

I hope Little Zizou goes worldwide soon, so I can share it with everyone I know.

[etu]

Oh, boy! Little Zizou goes on all-India distribution March 13. It should get American distribution soon, too.

For those on Facebook, Sooni launched this movie page today:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=866490230&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=51326591622&ref=mf

[Marbs84]

http://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/video/john-abrahams-new-movie-little-zizou

[etu]

http://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/video/john-abrahams-new-movie-little-zizou

That's great that the site has the latest trailer, because I'd want to not give out Facebook links since it excludes some people from seeing them.

However, here's a video of a preview event at the Rippon Club which the Little Zizou team posted on Facebook today that I couldn't find anywhere, not even on the MidDay site:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=146595025432&oid=51326591622&ref=share
It has lots of John Abraham looking very beefy. 

oops fixed the link

[Simran_Singh]

That's great that the site has the latest trailer, because I'd want to not give out Facebook links since it excludes some people from seeing them.

Actually, a lot of time the videos* on the movie promotion pages of Facebook are accessible even if you aren't signed in


*like the one you just posted!

[Marbs84]

‘The world is unpredictably crazy’
http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/The-world-is-unpredictably-crazy/articleshow/4211968.cms

She made her mark with award-winning films like Salaam Bombay, Mississippi Masala and The Namesake.

And now, scriptwriter Sooni Taraporevala is all set to showcase her genius as she readies for her directorial debut starring Boman Irani, John Abraham, Shernaz Patel and Cyrus Broacha.

Talking about the film, she says, “The film is a comedy that takes place in contemporary Mumbai. At its heart, it’s a story about love, but it’s really about two battling families, one headed by a cartoonish, religious bigot played by Sohrab Ardeshir, and the other headed by a crusading editor and owner of a Parsi newspaper played by Boman Irani. The story is about their families, their children and the intermingling between their two households. It’s about the fun and heartache of life and unrequited love.”
The tagline of the film is ‘A film made by a Parsi for Parsis.’ Now, isn’t that something out of the ordinary? “The Parsi factor is important, because people are really warm and affectionate towards Parsis as a community. There is a great curiosity about them and everyone knows that Parsis love to laugh,” she says.

The first-time director is already reaping the fruits of her labour. The film has won a variety of awards around the world including the New York Film Festival and the Mahindra Film Festival. Needless to say, Sooni was overwhelmed by the response that she received. “When we showed the film in Rome, it was an exclusively Italian audience who absolutely connected with it and laughed while watching the film. Indians, too, loved the film, because it reminded them of Mumbai. The response has been much better than the prizes the movie has won,” says the elated filmmaker. She adds, “When you make a comedy, it is immediately obvious whether you have made a good film or not. If you’re sitting with an audience that is not making a sound during the comic scenes, you know that you have not made a mark. Whereas with a film that is not a comedy, it gets very difficult to tell.”

People close to Sooni were surprised when they heard she was writing a comedy, as she has been associated more with the drama genre in the past. “People were not expecting me to do a comedy film. I wrote the film because I love to laugh; especially now, when the world is such a horrible place. It is so unpredictably crazy that I really value laughter more than I ever did before.”
So, does that mean a comedy is easier to write than a drama? “Comedy is not harder than serious drama. Having said that; I must say that I had a great collaboration with most of my actors as far as the script is concerned. For instance, Cyrus Broacha’s lines are all his own compositions. He drove our script supervisor, Hassan Kutty, insane. Cyrus never says the same line twice. He is so quick and he is such a great wit.”

Sooni is elated with the latest Indian winnings at the Oscars. “For me, the nicest thing about the Slumdog Millionaire win was Resul Pookutty’s award. Now when foreign filmmakers come to shoot in India, they will not have to bring their own technicians, they are going to realise that there is a lot of talent in India and they are going to use it. That’s a really good thing that has happened.”

She tells us about her long and close relationship with filmmaker Mira Nair. “It’s fantastic. We met in 1976 and I’ve known her for more than 30 years now. We were friends before we started working together professionally. We have a really good working relationship. We’ve worked together for so long that sometimes we finish each other’s sentences.” So, will we see Mira and Sooni working together anytime soon? “Not at the moment, but I’m sure we will in the future.” In the meantime, we can't wait to catch her debut film.

[etu]

There are only a few hours 'til this opens in India. Here are the showtimes that were posted on Facebook:

ALL-INDIA RELEASE 13 MARCH 2009
HEY FOLKS IT'S SHOWTIME!!

MUMBAI
Inox, Nariman Point, 11.30,3.30,7.00,9.05
Metro, Marine Lines, 6.15, 9.05
Sterling CST, 2.30,8.00,10.30
PVR Phoenix Mills, 10.15, 2.05, 6.25, 10.55
Fame Nakshtra, Dadar, 1.00, 8.00
Gemini, Bandra, 12.30, 6.30
Movietime Suburbia, Bandra, 3.45
Globus, Bandra, 8.15
PVR Juhu, 9.40, 4.05, 8.45
Cinemax Infinity Mall, Andheri, 12.45, 6.00, 10.15
Fame Adlabs, Andheri, 10.30, 2.45, 7.00
Fun Republic, Andheri, 4.00
PVR Goregaon, 1.30, 10.50
Movietime Hub, Goregaon, 3.30, 8.15
Fame, Malad, 11.00, 3.00, 6.00, 8.45, 10.20
Cinemax, Sion, 3.30, 6.00, 10.45
PVR Mulund, 1.40, 6.15, 10.50

PUNE
Esquare 11.00, 3.15, 9.30
Citypride Kothrud, 9.30, 6.15
Inox, 12.30, 4.45, 8.45
Gold, 6.00

AHMEDABAD
Citygold Ashram Road, 9.30, 5.00, 10.30
Fun Republic, 12.15, 2.30, 7.45

KOLKATTA
Nandan, 4.15
Inox Forum, 10.00, 4.40, 8.40
Fame South City, 11.15, 4.00, 8.00
Inox City Centre, 1.00

BANGALORE
Fame Lido, 10.30, 3.15, 7.30
Fun Cinemas, 1.00, 7.45

DELHI
PVR Saket, 10.30, 1.10, 5.15, 9.00
PVR Select City Walk, 10.10, 11.00, 3.15, 6.00, 8.00
PVR Prashant Vihar, 10.00, 2.15
PVR Vikaspuri, 6.15, 10.30
PVR Naraina, 10.00, 2.30, 7.05, 11.20
Spice, Noida, 10.00, 12.40, 4.20, 8.40
PVR Ambience, Gurgaon, 11.30, 1.30, 5.35, 9.45

There are a bunch of great behind-the-scenes photos, too:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Zizou/54810442513#/pages/Little-Zizou/54810442513?v=photos&viewas=866490230

[etu]

I asked Raja Sen on Twitter how Little Zizou is doing, and he said it's doing great business in Bombay. The only two sentences of chat I got in with Mira Nair at an event last night was to ask about this movie, and she said Sooni has texted her that it's going really well.

[Darshana]

And - I saw a note from Sooni Taraporewala on the Little Zizou page on Facebook - in Bombay, this movie is showing to sold-out houses, and - the best indicator of success - tickets for it are being sold "in black" ["in the black?"],.  I.e. there's a black-market market for them, which of course means a great demand.

I so hope it comes here.  It's actually hard to describe in a way that captures its delights - it's a fizzy movie with a real message.

[Poonam]

And - I saw a note from Sooni Taraporewala on the Little Zizou page on Facebook - in Bombay, this movie is showing to sold-out houses, and - the best indicator of success - tickets for it are being sold "in black" ["in the black?"],.  I.e. there's a black-market market for them, which of course means a great demand.

Ha, ha.  In India, people always say "in black" , kind of a literal translation from Hindi (black mein bikh raha hai - selling in black)

[Darshana]

Terrific news - this will be on the program at IFFLA, the Los Angeles Indian film festival, in April.  Sooni will be there and I'm hoping for Boman Irani too!!  They came to NY.

http://www.indianfilmfestival.org/filmguide.php

[Darshana]

Little Zizou will be in a film festival in Granada, Spain - festival dates are June 13-20.

http://www.bollywhat-forum.com/index.php?topic=26038.0

[Darshana]

Came back just to see how many of us are interested in this movie - I'm impressed at 2000+ page views, especially given the fact that as far as I know just 2 or so of us have seen it.  Would like to think this means it would find an audience outside India.

You know what, though - I find it hard to write about effectively.  I find it hard to write about anything effectively, of course, but this one is especially elusive - I don't want it to sound like a "kids movie" because it is not one, and it is not about football either (both categories get a pass from me usually).  And most people outside India, except Indians, don't know who/what Parsis are.  I"d say finding out who they are, and being exposed to this mix of them, which hits the cliches (eccentricity etc) enough to make things recognizable, but is fresh too -- anyhow I'd say finding it out is a lot of the fun.

I have written about it anyhow, here and there with various "identities" but I'll be happy when more people are in the conversation.

[Bandu_Dandu]

Has this film released on DVD yet??

[wichy]

I've seen Little Zizou some time back and what can I say... I love it!!! Now I'm eagerly waiting for the DVD coming to re-watch it again. All the actors did the great job, as well as the director/screenwriter. The ambience of Mumbai - Parsi Mumbai - is so unusual and interesting!!! Strongly recomment to see it - and yes, it's not a children movie...

[etu]

I do hope and expect that Little Zizou will get an art house opening in America sometime. Its still doing well at festivals, the most recent being in Granada, Spain.

[etu]

Induna.com has the Little Zizou DVD now. Mine is on its way.

It's a Moserbaer DVD, which probably means a banner ad here or there, but I've been told by the filmmaker that it's Region 0 and NTSC. They are having a launch party in Mumbai Monday, July 13. The DVD is only being released in India as there's still a chance it could get wider cinema distribution.