Veer-Zaara

''Veer-Zaara'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra, who co-produced it with his son Aditya Chopra. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta as the eponymous star-crossed lovers: Veer Pratap Singh (Khan) is an Indian Air Force officer, and Zaara Hayaat Khan (Zinta) is the daughter of a Pakistani politician. Veer is imprisoned on false charges, and a young Pakistani lawyer, named Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukerji), fights his case. Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Divya Dutta, Manoj Bajpayee, Boman Irani, Anupam Kher and Kirron Kher play supporting roles.

Chopra wanted to make his return to cinema after 7 years; he was dissatisfied with the scripts he received. Aditya then narrated a few scenes of a story he had written, which interested Chopra and prompted him to direct it. Chopra intended the film to be a tribute to Punjab; it was to be titled ''Yeh Kahaan Aa Gaye Hum,'' based on an eponymous song from Yash Chopra's ''Silsila'' (1981). Set in India and Pakistan, principal photography took place in Punjab and various locations in Mumbai; parts of the film were also shot in Pakistan. The soundtrack album, based on old compositions by Madan Mohan with lyrics by Javed Akhtar, was the highest-selling album of the year in India.

''Veer-Zaara'' was released on 12 November 2004 during the Diwali festival. The film earned over 976.4 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of the year in both India and overseas territories. It received widespread critical acclaim, with high praise directed to the story, screenplay, dialogues, soundtrack, performances and sensitive portrayal of India-Pakistan relations. It was described by analysts as having themes pertaining to a shared Punjabi culture, secularism and feminism, among others. The film is considered as one of the greatest romantic films of Indian film history.

At the 52nd National Film Awards, ''Veer-Zaara'' won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. At the 50th Filmfare Awards, the film received a leading 15 nominations, and won 4 awards, including Best Film and Best Story (Aditya Chopra). At the 6th IIFA Awards, it won a leading 7 awards of its 11 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Yash Chopra), Best Actor (Khan), Best Supporting Actress (Mukerji) and Best Music Director (Mohan).

Plot

In 2004, the Government of Pakistan decides to review unsolved cases pertaining to Indian prisoners as a goodwill gesture. Saamiya Siddiqui, a budding Pakistani lawyer, is given prisoner 786's defense as her first case. The prisoner has not spoken to anyone for 22 years. After addressing him by his name, Veer Pratap Singh, Veer opens up to Saamiya and narrates his story.

1982 – Zaara Hayaat Khan is a lively Pakistani woman whose family is of the political background and high standing in Lahore. Zaara's Sikh governess (whom she addresses as her grandmother) Bebe asks Zaara to scatter her ashes in the Sutlej river among her ancestors as her last wish. While traveling to India, Zaara's bus meets with an accident. Veer, an Indian Air Force pilot and a Punjabi Hindu, rescues her, and she completes Bebe's final rites. Veer convinces Zaara to return with him to his village to spend a day together on account of Lohri. Zaara meets Veer's uncle Choudhary Sumer Singh and his aunt Saraswati Kaur. Veer realises that he is falling in love with Zaara.

The next day, Veer takes Zaara to the train station for her train back to Lahore, planning to confess. However, he ends up meeting Zaara's fiancé Raza Sharazi. Before she leaves, he confesses his love to her, accepting that they cannot be together. Zaara boards in silence and bids him goodbye; both believe they will never meet again.

Back home in Pakistan, Zaara realises she too is in love with Veer but that she must keep her family's honour and marry Raza, a wedding that will further the political career of her father Jehangir. Seeing Zaara breaking down, her maid and friend Shabbo calls Veer, asking him to take Zaara away before her wedding. Veer quits the Indian Air Force and travels to Pakistan. When he arrives, Zaara runs into his arms in tears, causing her father to fall sick in shock. Mariyam begs Veer to leave Zaara because Jehangir's high-profile reputation and health will be too bad if news gets out that Zaara is in love with an Indian. Veer respects this request and decides to leave but Raza, outraged by the shame Zaara has brought upon him, has him wrongly imprisoned under the name of Rajesh Rathore on charges of being an Indian spy. Meanwhile, the bus Veer was supposed to be on going back to India falls off a cliff, killing all the passengers. When Veer hears this in jail, he believes the amulet Zaara's mother gave him just protected his life.

Veer requests Saamiya not to mention either Zaara or her family whilst fighting the case, believing Zaara is happily married by now and he will only ruin her life. Due to this, Saamiya decides to cross the border and find someone in Veer's village who can prove his true identity. In Veer's village, she is shocked to meet Zaara and Shabbo instead. Zaara had thought that Veer died in the bus accident 22 years ago. After news of his death, she broke off the marriage with Raza, and her father agreed, getting them divorced himself. Afterward, Zaara and Shabbo left Pakistan and settled in Veer's village in India, so that Zaara could keep Veer's dream of running a girls' school alive. Saamiya takes Zaara back to Pakistan, and she shares an emotional reunion with Veer. Her statement and evidence prove Veer's innocence and his identity as Veer and not as Rajesh Rathore, and the judge frees him, apologising on behalf of Pakistan. Veer and Zaara, finally reunited, get married, say goodbye to Saamiya at the Wagah border crossing, and return to their village, living happily ever after.

Cast

* Shah Rukh Khan as Veer Pratap Singh
* Preity Zinta as Zaara Hayaat Khan
* Rani Mukerji as Saamiya Siddiqui, Veer's lawyer
* Amitabh Bachchan as Choudhary Sumer Singh, Veer's uncle
* Hema Malini as Saraswati Kaur, Veer's aunt
* Manoj Bajpai as Raza Sharazi, Zaara's ex-husband
* Boman Irani as Jehangir Hayaat Khan, Zaara's father
* Kirron Kher as Mariyam Hayaat Khan, Zaara's mother
* Divya Dutta as Shabina "Shabbo" Ibrahim, Zaara's friend
* Anupam Kher as Zakir Ahmed
* S. M. Zaheer as Pakistani Judge
* Akhilendra Mishra as Majid Khan
* Zohra Sehgal as Zahida "Bebe" Hayaat Khan, Zaara's Grandmother
* Tom Alter as Raltaaf Sheikh
* Mart Kenneth Rebamonte as Beggar

Production

Development

Yash Chopra was due to return to directing after 7 years since ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (1997). After his son Aditya completed filming for ''Mohabbatein'' (2000), they started to look for a new script for Chopra's return as a director. None of the new scripts excited Chopra; he expressed his disdain at the new trend of the films of the time, stating, "I was tired of television promos. All the semi-clad girls look the same." Chopra stated he was as nervous of his return as he was while directing his debut ''Dhool Ka Phool'' (1959). He then finalized another script and began casting for roles. Aditya then provided a narration of a few scenes of a new script, but conveyed that he would be unable to direct it. Chopra was interested and began to work on the new project.

According to Aditya, the story of ''Veer-Zaara'' was written as a medium for his father to return to his Punjabi roots. Chopra was born in Lahore, Punjab (present-day Pakistan) and later moved with his family to Jalandhar when he was young. He travelled to Bombay (present-day Mumbai) in 1951, when he was introduced to the film industry. Speaking about the film's theme, Chopra said, "''Veer-Zaara'' is a humble tribute to my home in Punjab. It is my tribute to the oneness of people on both sides of the border." In preparation, Chopra watched videos of Pakistani marriages and consulted Nasreen Rehman, a professor of the Cambridge University for the film's portrayal of Pakistani culture, their courts and dialects.

While completing the film, Chopra and Aditya had a discussion about the film's title. ''Yeh Kahaan Aa Gaye Hum'' was one of the contenders for the title, but ''Veer-Zaara'' was ultimately chosen. Chopra said, "The film's lovers are not bothered with the strife around them. For them, love is the only religion." The title ''Veer-Zaara'' was initially hinted to mislead audiences. The film's titled was officially confirmed by Sanjeev Kohli, CEO of Yash Raj Films, who stated that the title was chosen after "much deliberation". Chopra stated that he used to have constant arguments with Aditya while filming ''Veer-Zaara''.

Cast and crew

Shah Rukh Khan was cast in the lead role of Veer. Khan shortly played a 60-year-old man in the film, which he felt was a difficult role for him.

Zaara's role was first offered to Kajol, upon her rejection, the role went to Zinta. According to Chopra, Zinta was a person whose "looks and personality could be transformed." He wanted to break the Western stereotype characters played by Zinta. Zinta was interested in being a part of the film due to Chopra's finesse as a director. She also felt that it was time to move on from war-oriented films with Pakistan, saying, "I thought that was a great message to have in a film and I think what our governments can't do... what our government cannot do, our cinema can do and this film is truly doing that." Zinta had to attend various lessons for improving her diction for speaking Urdu'' commented, "''Veer-Zaara'' has a great storyline with some unpredictable twists and emotions, keeping you engrossed throughout."

Box office

''Veer-Zaara'' was commercially successful at the box office. Prior to the film's release, Adarsh predicted that the film would be a commercial success. It was released in 625 screens in India and grossed 24.6 million nett on its opening day, the year's second highest-opening for a film in India. ''Veer-Zaara'' topped the week's highest-grossing films in India in the first week, grossing an average of 6,85,948 per print. It earned 175.7 million nett in its first week, the highest first week collection of an Indian film. Since its release, it topped the weekly charts 39 times in India. It also had the highest weekend collection of the year, earning 97.8 million over the weekend. The film remained at the first position in its second week of release, grossing an average of 1,89,502 per print. At the end of its theatrical run, it collected 580 million in India, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year.

The film earned 357 million in the overseas markets 152.5 million from the United Kingdom, 140 million from the United States and 65 million from other territoriesmaking it 2004's highest-grossing Indian production overseas. In its first week in the United Kingdom, the film collected $900,000, for the fourth position on the local box office chart. The film collected the same amount in North America, 15th on the local box office chart. The film was a blockbuster, with regard to its overseas collection. ''Veer-Zaara'' grossed a total of worldwide, becoming the highest grossing Indian film of the year.

See also

* List of accolades received by ''Veer-Zaara''

References

External links

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Veer-Zaara's Official Site

{{Yash Chopra

2004 films
2000s Hindi-language films
Indian interfaith romance films
Films set in Punjab, India
Films set in Lahore
Films directed by Yash Chopra
2004 romantic drama films
Indian romantic musical films
India–Pakistan relations in popular culture
Yash Raj Films films
Indian Air Force in films
Indian courtroom films
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award winners