''Zokkomon'' is an 2011 Indian

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

-language

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, advent ...

released by Disney World Cinema, written and directed by

Satyajit Bhatkal Satyajit Bhatkal is an Indian television and film director, best known as director of Satyamev Jayate, a TV show focused on addressing social issues in India. He is CEO of Paani Foundation, a non-profit founded by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, ai ...

. Starring

Darsheel Safary Darsheel Safary (born 9 March 1997) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films and television. Safary made his film debut with the leading role of a student with learning disorder in Aamir Khan's directorial debut, the critically acclaimed d ...

in the lead role, ''Zokkomon'' is Disney's fourth involvement in a production for the Indian market (after the computer-animated ''

Roadside Romeo ''Roadside Romeo'' is a 2008 3D computer animated romantic comedy film written and directed by Jugal Hansraj in his directorial debut., produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra of Yash Raj Films and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pic ...

'', Tollywood movie ''

Anaganaga O Dheerudu ''Once Upon a time there was a warrior'' () is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language fantasy adventure film written and directed by Prakash Kovelamudi in his first mainstream film. It is produced by Walt Disney Pictures with veteran director K. Raghaven ...

'' and the live-action ''

Do Dooni Chaar ''Do Dooni Chaar'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi family comedy-drama film produced by Arindam Chaudhuri (Planman Motion Pictures), written and directed by debutant director Habib Faisal, and starring Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Aditi Vasudev and ...

''). The music has been composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and audiences alike who praised the performances, most notably Safary, Fadnis, and Kher but had criticism towards the story and noted that the film didn't make full use of its potential.

Plot

Kunal (Safary), an orphaned boy, discovers how cruel life is when he is abandoned by his heartless uncle, Deshraj Kumar (Kher). Left to fend for himself, Kunal soon realizes the hero within and begins his epic journey of adventure and transformation to become Zokkomon.

Cast

as Kunal Kumar / Zokkomon *

Manjari Fadnis Manjari Fadnis (also spelled Phadnis and Fadnnis) is an Indian actress who predominantly appeared in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu films. She is best known for her performance in the 2008 Hindi film '' Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na''. Her other ...

as Kittu * Anupam Kher as Deshraj Kumar (Kunal's uncle) *

Sheeba Chaddha Sheeba Chaddha is an Indian film, stage and television actress. Early life and career Chaddha grew up in Delhi, where she developed interest in theatre and started taking theatre workshops. She majored in English literature from Hans Raj Colle ...

as Rajrani Kumar (Kunal’s aunt) *

Atisha Naik Atisha Naik is an Indian actress has been in the field of acting since she was 8 years old when she made her debut in a Marathi play, ''Good Bye Doctor'' as a child artist. She made her film debut with Mahesh Manjrekar's Hindi film '' Pran Jay ...

as Arju's Mother * S. M. Zaheer as Dr. Vivek Roy

Soundtrack

The music is composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. Lyrics are penned by Ramesh, Lakshmi, and Javed Akhtar

Track listing

Release

The film was originally scheduled for release on 7 May 2010, but due to scheduling conflicts with '' Bumm Bumm Bole'', another film starring Safary, the release date was moved to 22 April 2011.

Home media

The film was released by

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

, digital Download, and on demand on 26 July 2011.

Reception

Critical response

Zokkomon received mostly favorable reviews from film critics. Kevin Thomas of

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

gave the film 4 out of 5, describing the film as a "lively and engaging family film" that has "more substance and cohesiveness than much Bollywood fare." Robert Koehler of Variety calls the production package under Satyajit Bhatkal's direction "thoroughly pro," while Kirk Honeycutt of

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

says that the first live-action film from Disney Studios India is "designed to give Indian kids their first superhero." Conversely,

Shubhra Gupta Shubhra Gupta is an Indian film critic, writer and columnist for ''The Indian Express'' from New Delhi, India. She received the Ramnath Goenka Award for Best Writing on Cinema in 2012. She was a member of the Central Board of Film Certificati ...

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

gave the film 2 stars out of 5, writing ″Too bad Zokkomon doesn't make full use of its potential.″ Anuj Kumar in his negative review for

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

called the film ″Low on IQ, high on saccharine!″. He further wrote ″We never get to know the logic behind rechristening Kunal Zokkomon in a place where people speak chaste Hindi and the kids are not shown watching any cartoon channel. A name like Zokkomon sounds out of place in such territory, but Bhatkal never substantiates it in the script. Perhaps Disney wants to promote Zokkomon as a long-lost Indian cousin of Doraemon or Pokemon if the film does well. But for now, it comes across as a misplaced marketing move. Darsheel is the best thing about the film. Kher hams big time and Manjari overdoes the cute act.″

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, tt1605790, Zokkomon 2010s Hindi-language films 2010s Indian superhero films 2010s action adventure films Child superheroes Film superheroes Indian action adventure films Walt Disney Pictures films Films about orphans Films about child abuse India in fiction Films shot in India Films set in India Indian films about revenge UTV Motion Pictures films Disney India films