Zero 2016

The movie opens with a brief, mythic prologue about God creating Adam and Eve, a celestial prelude that sits in contrast to the human drama that follows. In the present, a newly wedded couple Balaji alias Bala Ashwin Kakumanu and Priya Sshivada Nair move into their new apartment, starting a life together built on love and trust. Yet Bala’s father, Vijay Kumar Ravi Raghavendra, remains wary, unsettled by Priya’s family history of mental illness. Despite this looming shadow, Bala’s devotion to Priya is unwavering, and he chooses to stand by her side through the early, intimate challenges of their marriage.

Not long after settling in, a small incident unsettles the couple: Priya shops for lipsticks but claims she doesn’t remember taking them, sparking a tense encounter with the security guard before she leaves. Back home, she confides in her neighbour, a moment that exposes deeper secrets about her past and her struggle with pregnancy. She refuses to meet Bala’s father, and she shares a painful truth with the neighbor, hinting at a life shadowed by fear and misunderstanding. Shortly after, Priya drifts into a dreamlike state where she speaks with her mother, recounting how, in the eyes of others, she was branded a thief. She also reveals a quiet, almost childlike affinity for the color pink and how she finds joy in it.

What follows is a descent into a world that blurs the line between dreams and waking life. Priya begins sleepwalking at night, and a sense of unease spreads through the home as eerie visions and unsettling incidents accumulate. The most disturbing turn arrives when Priya becomes possessed by a malevolent force: Lilith [Andreanne Nouyrigat], a Biblical demon who gains control of her body. Bala, terrified by the turn of events, seeks help from Solomon [J. D. Chakravarthi], an occult expert who can speak with ghosts and reveal hidden truths.

Solomon confronts the possession, and when Lilith, inhabiting Priya, touches him, he is drawn into a revelation about the being’s origins. Lilith was created before Eve, with Adam, but she rebelled and was cursed with childlessness. Over the ages, Lilith conceived repeatedly with the devil’s progeny, yet most children died or were stillborn; Priya becomes the only child who escaped death. Lilith’s torment turns her toward a plan to destroy the world, a mission she pursues with unyielding resolve.

The narrative makes clear that the Devil himself, in the form of a snake, has sent Lilith to fulfill this apocalyptic mission. Bala becomes a key obstacle to Lilith’s plan, and the Devil hints that if Lilith touches Bala, her powers could be stripped away. The bond between Priya and Bala—described as a soulmate connection through seven births—adds a powerful dimension to their struggle, suggesting their love may be the only force strong enough to withstand Lilith’s havoc. Solomon gathers exorcists from around the world, three professionals who join the effort, but their combined power initially fails to wrest Lilith from Priya’s body.

In a tense moment, Lilith tries to choke Bala, prompting a physical contact that rekindles Priya’s memories of their life together. She is momentarily unpossessed and returns to the waking world, where Bala and Solomon stand beside her. As Lilith readies another surge of possession, a divine intervention occurs: God freezes time and intervenes to save the world, blessing Priya with pregnancy and underscoring a larger, cosmic purpose for their union. The film then reveals that God chose this couple to be the parents of His child and, with Lilith defeated, the immediate threat is vanquished.

The closing image leaves a chilling echo: the Devil, still seeking to fulfill his ancient mission, returns in the snake’s form and transforms back into a towering human figure, vowing to complete his plan alone. This final note hints at a possible continuation—Zero-2—leaving audiences with a sense of unfinished business in the broader struggle between divine and demonic forces.