The Zoya Factor review: Dulquer Salmaan and Sonam Kapoor hit a sixer

Any movie that tackles a nation's, nay, an entire subcontinent's obsession with cricket is bound to do well. And the Abhishek Sharma directed romantic comedy, The Zoya Factor, handles it so beautifully we spend half the movie laughing out loud at the spectacularly humourous Bollywood diva Sonam Kapoor and the other half drooling over South Indian hearththrob Dulquer Salmaan's Mills and Boons like character.
Based on Anuja Chauhan's best selling chick lit from 2008 by the same name, The Zoya Factor has Sonam playing Zoya Solanki, a ditzy copywriter from an ad agency who is anointed as the official lucky mascot of the Indian Cricket Team ever since her simple act of sharing the team's breakfast table sets them on a winning streak.
Though most of the 'superstitious' team members welcome her with open arms, Zoya has to face the captain Nikhil Khoda's (played with superb assurance by DQ) disdain when he feels the hard work and talent of his team is being undermined by this 'luck' factor.
In a country where cricketers are treated like superheroes and cricket, a religion, can Khoda's belief that "Luck has no role in success. It is just an excuse for failure," or that "The more you practice, the luckier you get," ever find currency?
Dulquer slides effortlessly into his role as the beleaguered captain trying to keep his team together. The romance between Nikhil and Zoya might have developed a bit too fast but Dulquer and Sonam make it so believable. He has an innate charm that shines through brilliantly and she has her comic timing down so pat, that her scatterbrained act seems an extension of her personality. Together they are magic.
The narrative style of getting Zoya to speak directly to the audience works well for this movie as does Shah Rukh Khan's voiceover.
At just over 2 hours and 20 minutes, The Zoya Factor, is a crisp watch and even if you aren't a fan of cricket, believe us, you'd find it enjoyable.
Sanjay Kapoor as Zoya's cricket mad father and Sikander Kher as her teasing brother Zorawar, get enough space to showcase their talent as do the members of the cricket team (there's even a Sachin Tendulkar lookalike! ) especially Angad Bedi.
The Zoya Factor is great for laughs and the movie straddles the superstitious beliefs of an entire nation with a serious discourse on hard work versus luck with great aplomb.
The Zoya Factor
Director: Abhishek Sharma
Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Dulquer Salmaan, Sanjay Kapoor, Angad Bedi, Sikandar Kher
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
ambica@khaleejtimes.com