Veer-Zaara (2004)

The story of the love between Veer Pratap Singh, an Indian, and Zaara Hayaat Khan, a Pakistani...a love so great it knows no boundaries...

Director:

Yash Chopra

Writers:

Aditya Chopra (dialogue), Aditya Chopra (screenplay),

Stars:

Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji

20 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shah Rukh Khan	...	Veer Pratap Singh
Preity Zinta	...	Zaara Hayaat Khan
Rani Mukerji	...	Saamiya Siddiqui
Kiron Kher	...	Mariam Hayaat Khan (as Kirron Kher)
Divya Dutta	...	Shabbo
Boman Irani	...	Jahangir Hayaat Khan
Anupam Kher	...	Zakir Ahmed
Amitabh Bachchan	...	Chaudhary Sumer Singh (Special Appearance)
Hema Malini	...	Maati (Special Appearance)
Manoj Bajpayee	...	Razaa Shirazi (Special Appearance) (as Manoj Bajpai)
Zohra Segal	...	Bebe (as Zohra Sehgal)
S.M. Zaheer
Tom Alter
Akhilendra Mishra	...	Jailor
Arun Bali

Storyline

Veer Pratap Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) is an officer and pilot in the Indian Air Force who one day meets a beautiful Pakistani heiress, Zaara Hayaat Khan (Preity Zinta), as she travels to a small Indian village to scatter the ashes of one of her family's loyal servants. Veer has family in the village, and while most Indians show no affection for Pakistanis, his aunt and uncle are willing to take Zaara in for the night. It isn't long before Veer finds himself falling for her; however, Veer learns that Zaara is engaged to another man, Raza (Manoj Bajpai), a cruel and humorless Pakistani. A friend of Zaara contacts Veer and tells him that Zaara wants out of her engagement and has strong feelings for him, but when he comes to her rescue, matters take a turn for the worse and Veer winds up in jail. Twenty years later, Veer is still behind bars, and finds that his case is being given a new trial, but while he has a new chance at freedom, he discovers his lawyer will be going up against a state ...

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Plot Keywords:

pakistan | love | rescue | stranded | fair | 

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Taglines:

A Love Legend

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Yash Raj Films [in] (English)

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi Urdu Panjabi

Release Date:

12 November 2004 (India)

Also Known As:

Veer und Zaara - Die Legende einer Liebe

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£484,993 (UK) (12 November 2004)

Gross:

$2,921,738 (USA) (14 January 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yash Raj Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

192 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Amitabh Bachchan suggested Gurdas Mann to Yash Chopra, believing that Mann's voice would best suit the "Lodi" song.

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Goofs

In the Qawwali scene when Veer comes back, we see Zaara and Shabbo turning around to see him. Then when the camera comes back on them, we can see Shabbo turning around again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: One early morning / Lifting the dark blanket of the night / From its pillow of mountain peak / The sun lifted its head / And saw... / The valley's heart is filled with the season of love / And the branches of memories have sprouted / Innumerable blossoms of moments past / That begin to scent the air. / Unspoken, unheard yearnings / Half asleep, half awake / Look out sleepily at life / As it flows in wave upon wave / Every moment new, but also the same / Yes, this life! / Which ...

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Connections

Referenced in Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Tum Paas Aa Rahe Ho"
Sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Jagjit Singh
Composed by Madan Mohan
Lyrics by Javed Akhtar

User Reviews

Progressive Film

Reviewed by: Vijay Venkataramanan Reviewer's Rating: 9 out of 10

It's Diwali - the time for sweets, new clothes, fireworks, and as is customary every year in India, a star-studded, feel-good blockbuster. Yash Chopra's reclamation of the director's throne after seven long years is a simple return to the classical traditions of mainstream Indian film-making. The flair and sensitivity for romance is intact along with the passion for deep-rooted cultural and traditional mis-en-scene. However, neither is "Veer Zaara" a classic, nor is it even remotely comparable to Chopra's earlier masterpieces such as "Silsila", "Kaala Pathar", "Kabhie Kabhie", and "Lamhe". Yet, it is an ideal Diwali gift, exquisitely packaged, filled to the brim with sentiments and emotions, presented with only the best of intentions.

Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh (Shahrukh Khan) has been decaying in a Pakistani prison for twenty-two years. Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukherjee), a local lawyer representing the Human Rights Commission undertakes the challenge of fighting for Veer so he can return to India. As Saamiya tries to unearth the hidden truth behind why and how Veer ended up in this situation, we are taken through a trip down memory lane as Veer recollects the days when he found and lost the love of his life, a Pakistani girl called Zaara (Priety Zinta).

What "Veer Zaara" lacks in terms of an innovative plot structure, it more than makes up for with Aditya Chopra's sometimes flawed, but sensitive writing. The supporting characters are extremely well fleshed out, and his dialogs witty and subtle. The storytelling is further enhanced with Javed Akhtar's lyrical wizardry, and Yash Chopra's tact for stretching defining moments of the story into musical interludes continues to fascinate. "Do pal ruka, khwaabon ka kaarvaan", a fine example of Mr. Akhtar's and Mr. Chopra's brilliance remains etched in your memory.

The film's grand-scale packaging is embellished by Sharmishta Roy's artistic, and exquisitely detailed production design, with each set being highly reflective of the characters that it holds in. Cinematographer Anil Sharma (Lagaan, Kal Ho Na Ho) sets up a rustic, yet opulent scheme to the film's largely rural setting that brings back memories of the evergreen "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge".

Actors including the great Amitabh Bachchan (who makes a stunning special appearance in this film with Hema Malini) have always elevated their performances to higher levels under Yash Chopra's baton. Rani Mukherjee follows in the same footsteps, playing the rookie lawyer with an admirable juxtaposition of nervousness and ferocity. While Preity Zinta and Shahrukh Khan too perform well in their respective roles, at no point does one feel that these two talented actors are ever challenged with roles such as these. Having played the loverboy so many times in the past, Veer Pratap Singh is a cakewalk for the Khan. The lead pair's chemistry from their younger days all the way to the days of their fifties is highly appreciable however. The supporting cast comprising of Divya Dutta, Kirron Kher, Boman Irani, and Manoj Bajpai make full use of their well-defined characters to enact high-caliber performances.

Other than the story of two fanatically devoted lovers, "Veer Zaara" is a progressive film for the Indian Film Industry because it makes an effort to break stereotypes with respect to Indo-Pak relations. It is a welcome change from the mindless Pak-bashing fare that we are routinely subjected to. Sensitive approaches like this first of all would help improve cultural ties, considering Hindi movies do comprise of a large portion of India's unofficial exports to Pakistan. Equally important is the economic factor because a culturally sensitive film like "Veer Zaara" is bound to officially open up a potentially huge, untapped, cinema-going audience across the border