The first half lacks bite, but director duo Alok Dwivedi and Gaganjeet Singh’s zom-com is watchable in the latter half. Anupriya Goenka and Rose Sardana lead the fightback.
Rating: 
(2/ 5)
By Mayur Lookhar
It would be only fair that in a zom-com (zombie comedy), the traditional disclaimer be reworked to: “Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, and the undead, is purely coincidental.” Though this reviewer loves horror, zombie films, especially zom-coms are hard to digest. They are often gross, perhaps even warranting that you carry an air sickness bag. If you don’t have the taste for them, zombie films are best avoided. But with a hilarious title like Indian Institute of Zombies, how can it escape one’s attention?
Devoid of stars, Kuku TV and Low Gravity Production have taken a brave call to bring this zom-com to theatres, hoping to emulate the modest success of films like Go Goa Gone (2013) and Marathi film Zombivli (2022).
Story
Set in Mumbai, the source of the zombie outbreak here is the country’s prestigious engineering institute, III (Indian Institute of Innovation). This is not some supernatural endemic, but the dirty work of mad professor Dr Darwendra (Mohan Kapur), who tricks the students into gulping down his Amrit serum. Unaware of the consequences, the poor students turn into zombies. This time, however, being backbenchers proves a blessing, as Rambo (Sachin Kavetham), Harjas Singh aka Haggu (Tanishq Chaudhary) and a few others give the evening a miss. The fate of the institute, the city and the nation at large rests on the shoulders of these backbenchers and the gorgeous professor Breganza (Anupriya Goenka).
Screenplay & Direction
In a film where the prestigious institute is called the Indian Institute of Innovation, Kunj Sanghvi (story) and his writers Hussain and Abbas Dalal (screenplay and dialogues) borrow an imported genre. The engineering college setting, however, helps the protagonists innovate and find bizarre but quick solutions to curb the zombie menace. The idea of empowering the backbenchers to potentially save the infected frontbenchers goes against the natural tide, but that’s the beauty of cinema. Unfortunately, after all the troubleshooting and the carnage, you wonder whether this zom-com has done more harm to the nation’s future. “Hey, don’t movie disclaimers begin with the line, ‘This is a work of fiction?”
A familiar tale of zombie infestation, it’s the institutional setting that makes it slightly novel. Regrettably, though, a cringe-inducing first half makes it an insufferable experience. You would not hold it against anyone if they decided to leave midway. Critics, though, are duty-bound to watch an entire film. With hopes crashed, one is perhaps looking simply to endure the second half, but it is here that I.I.Z redeems itself, at least partly. It is as if the writers, directors and actors suddenly wake up and begin to take their respective crafts seriously. The dull first half cannot be undone, but a much-improved second half helps I.I.Z gain some respectability.
Performances
Jeez, there are too many characters, and the director perhaps needlessly introduces one too many. Tackling the zombie menace needs a collective effort, and judged on individual smartness and performance, Anupriya Goenka’s Professor Breganza and Ranjan Raj’s Kitaab Shivdasani show more composure, more innovation and more heroism. Goenka has a strong visual appeal, and here she keeps her wits about her to navigate a life-and-death situation, that too in a night suit. Goenka has improved considerably from her early days in Bollywood to deliver a mature and strong performance. The only questionable thing about Professor Breganza is her delayed realisation about the flammable solution
Ranjan Raj is flaky to begin with but soon comes into his own. His innovations, particularly the Zombiflam temporary solution and the bizarre ability to tame one infected friend, Brutus, are funny.
Rose Sardana is the surprise packet here. Like Professor Breganza, Kiran (Sardana) too holds her composure throughout this menace. Being a collegian, she naturally offers more smiles, even landing herself a dance track in a bid to distract dozens of zombies. Parody would not be appropriate, but the signature green of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Maar Daala’ seems to have naturally compelled the I.I.Z makers to use the Devdas (2002) track in their film. Though much of the drama here borders on the silly, Sardana delivers a fine, saving act.
Sardana is paired with Jesse Lever, who is the Bhim Bhayankar of college. His frame wouldn’t match his more illustrious namesake, but the Bhim here is perhaps reflection of an underdog dismissed in an unfair caste system. Like the film, Lever, too, redeems himself in the business end.
Mohan Kapur can be impetuous, especially when armed with a mad-scientist mind and a destructive solution. His commanding tone, though, is reminiscent of a powerful politician. Inspired by Darwin, his parents named him Darwendra. Does it not rhyme with Narendra? Ah, that is a bad pun. Darwendra’s idea of equality, of creating an indestructible superior race, perhaps smacks of fascism. Have we not seen enough crooked minds in the garb of so-called great orators?
The one who most aggressively buys into Darwendra’s theory is Professor M. Mayalalitha (Bidisha Ghosh Sharma). [Again no relation with the late J. Jayalalithaa]. Maybe that explains why she turns the most vicious after taking Darwendra’s solution.
Well, though they are the leading boys, Sachin Kavetham and Tanishq Chaudhary have to bear the ignominy of playing the cringiest characters. Being backbenchers is no crime, but a dirty mind is unacceptable. On the fateful evening, Rambo and Haggu had originally planned to bust Professor Darwendra’s night by playing a blue film on the big screen. They fail early on, but later resort to the same cheap tactic as a way to distract the zombies, who end up hooked to Naughty Nikita. Surely, boys do boys’ things in college hostels, but such mischief need not be glorified on screen. Kavetham and Chaudhary are tough to watch, but partly redeem themselves later.
Music and Technical Aspects
Shine Jose has scored both the songs and the background music. The couple of songs are hardly impressive, but the BGM is acceptable. A zombie film can be tough to watch, and the early attacks are gross; thereafter, though, Gaganjeet Singh and Alok Dwivedi limit the carnage. Most of the zombie acts, however, don’t make for a compelling watch.
Final Word
After 136 minutes, I.I.Z leaves you with mixed emotions. Its first half is condemnable, but an improved second half makes it a passable film. If you have an appetite for this genre, then you might consider enrolling in the Indian Institute of Zombies.
I.I.Z is set to be released in theatres from 15 May.
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