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A new Brazilian film, Zero to Hero, recently made its way to Netflix. 

The romantic comedy is directed by Marcelo Antunez and stars Lucas Lucco, Carla Diaz, Felipe Hintse, and others in lead roles.

In this blog, I summarize the story of the film, trying to cover as many aspects in as few words as possible.

But before moving ahead, here is a list of all the main characters.

Agnaldo (Sandro’s Manager), Hero (The Lead), Sandro (The Superstar Singer), Nelson (Hero’s best friend), Genival (Nelson’s uncle), Bento (The Mayor), Matilde (Mayor’s wife), Lulli (Mayor’s daughter), Jacques Barreto (The rich record owner).

Main Characters of the Movie

Zero to Hero Movie Story Explained

A struggling rock ‘n’ roll singer, Hero, and his drummer friend, Nelson, work at a musical equipment selling store.

People often confuse Hero for the famous Brazilian singer Sandro Sanderlei. Except for his hairstyle, Hero is his exact replica. But he doesn’t like it and wants to make his own identity.

Sandro, on the other hand, drinks alcohol the night before his liposuction surgery for which he had to fast. 

His manager, Agnaldo, stops him from drinking any further but it is already too late. 

The next day, his surgery goes south and he goes into a coma. 

This puts Jacques, his sponsor, in a spot of bother, for there is a lot of money riding on his next tour. He decides to keep the news a secret.

Hero loses his job at the store. Nelson tells him that there is a prom night party where he can perform. The party is being managed by his uncle, Genival. 

Coincidentally, Genival is a friend of Agnaldo. 

Hero performs at the party but things go wayward with the stage catching fire. 

His uncle reprimands Nelson but the moment he closely looks at Hero, he is awestruck by his resemblance to Sandro.

Genival swiftly contacts Agnaldo and invites him over to his place, where the latter is surprised to see Hero. 

He sees an opportunity to solve Sandro’s situation and proposes that Hero tours Brazil as Sandro, offering incentives. 

Although initially hesitant, Hero agrees due to financial struggles and Agnaldo’s promise of a solo album afterward.

Hero decides to revolutionize country music into heavy rock ‘n’ roll. 

Agnaldo briefs him about Sandro at the singer’s mansion, and Jacques Barreto, a famous record owner sponsoring Sandro, approves the plan.

They prepare Hero for the tour, giving him a complete makeover and cutting his long hair short. Even Nelson gets a new look. Now, Hero looks exactly like Sandro.

They depart for Nova Esperanca, where a large crowd, including Mayor Bento, his wife Matilde, and their daughter Lulli, gathers to welcome Hero, although Lulli seems uninterested.

In the past, Sandro dated Lulli, but their relationship ended when he slept with her best friend, causing Lulli shame and leading her to travel to Europe.

However, Hero is unaware of this history, though he finds himself attracted to Lulli.

During their stay at the mayor’s house before the concert, Hero’s habits and demeanor, such as abstaining from alcohol and waking up early, differ from Sandro’s, surprising everyone, especially Lulli.

At his first concert, Hero pays special attention to Lulli, introducing her to the crew as the producer.

Despite Hero’s successful performance, Jacques expresses concern to Agnaldo about Hero’s attraction to Lulli, considering it a distraction.

Genival encourages Hero before his big performance, where he impresses the crowd but embarrasses Lulli by cheekily mentioning her.

Lulli leaves the concert upset, while Isabela Falcao joins the team and has an intimate photoshoot with Hero. 

Jacques invites Hero to a hot after-party in Sao Paulo, but Hero decides to meet Lulli instead. 

They have a conversation by the pool where he asks Lulli about her dislike towards him.

This is when she reveals that he slept with her best friend, due to which she became a laughing stock in her hometown.

Hero is embarrassed to find out the truth.

The next day, they head to Pantanal to shoot a music video. But Isabela couldn’t reach the location as she got too drunk at the after-party last night.

It prompts the director to look for a new face instantly. He finalizes Lulli for the role but she doesn’t agree.

Hero tries to get her onboard but she ridicules him by making fun of his (Sandro’s) lack of original songs in the last two decades.

Hero makes a bet with Lulli and asks her to pick a song of her choice. If he plays it right, she has to be in the music video.

On the flip side, if he fails to do so, she gets the right to share his song on the internet and make a meme out of it.

All the people in the room assume that Hero will fail and advise him against it.

However, the music Lulli picks turns out to be one of Hero and Nelson’s songs from the struggling days.

He plays it to perfection, surprising Lulli and forcing her to be part of the video.

Meanwhile, Hero unknowingly hurts Nelson’s feelings, leading to an emotional conversation where Nelson asks to be treated as a friend rather than an employee. 

Their conversation ends on a tense note.

Lulli and Hero shoot for the music video together and get closer to each other. Hero even succeeds in getting the director to put a kissing scene at the end of the video.

They share a long, sensual lip lock before Lulli finds it awkward in front of the whole crew. 

Hero’s next stop is in Jaguariuna, which he must reach before time to deal with media interviews.

However, inclement weather plays spoilsport, and transport movement is entirely scrapped.

Agnaldo gets worried about the same. But Hero comes up with a solution of traveling on horses with someone who knows the directions well. 

His hidden goal is to spend more time with Lulli since she is the only one who can meander through the path on a horse.

She agrees to be his guide, and they set off together, with Nelson declining to join.

During their trip, Hero and Lulli have several sentimental conversations. They find a tribe to stay in during the night and enjoy a bonfire.

On their last night before the final departure, they kiss each other but Hero stops midway due to the inherent burden of not being the real Sandro.

He is bound by the contractual obligation to not reveal the truth about his identity to anyone. 

The next morning, Hero’s intimate photographs with Isabela from the night of the concert give air to the already rousing fire.

Lulli gets angry and leaves the place. She puts the responsibility of taking Hero to the airport on Magaiver, the Mayor’s helper.

On their way, the experienced Magaiver advices Hero to not break Lulli’s heart if he is not serious about her.

The real Sandro regains consciousness in the hospital. Agnaldo is happy when the news reaches him.

At Jaguariuna, Hero patches up with his best friend and things between them go back to normal. 

Jacques and Agnaldo inform Hero about Sandro. He is shocked to know that the famed singer didn’t know about his impersonation.

However, Jacques is not bothered about his previous star. He now has his eyes on Hero and wants him to replace Sandro forever.

The main reason behind his thought process is that Hero is more responsible and equally talented. He presents a contract to him regarding the same.

He allures him praising him for activating the transition between country and rock music. But Agnaldo doesn’t agree with his plans. He registers his defiance.

Jacques tells them that he will pay Sandro a huge amount of money so he can change his face and live under a different identity.

Hero signs the contract but he does so in the name of Sandro, which means he cannot be officially held liable for its obligations.

Jacques fails to check the document carefully and leaves the room in a jubilant mood.

Hero plans to bring Sandro’s truth to the world. Nelson, Agnaldo, and Genival lend their support. Together, they sneakily rescue Sandro from the Hospital.

On the night of the concert, Agnaldo arranges for the media at the concert as a part of their plan.

Hero dedicates his newest song to Lulli, publicly acknowledging his love for her from the stage. 

When the song ends, he calls the real Sandro on stage and tells the public about what happened to him.

Both of them acknowledge each other, realizing that the only person at fault is Jacques. The news shocks everybody present, including Lulli.

However, she understands everything and meets Hero backstage. They share a kiss and end up as a couple. The movie ends.