''Veer'' () is a 2010 Indian

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

-language

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by Anil Sharma and written by Shailash Verma and Shaktimaan Talwar from a story by

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

. It stars

Mithun Chakraborty Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...

Jackie Shroff Jaikishan Kakubhai Shroff (born 1 February 1957), popularly known as Jackie Shroff, is an Indian actor and former model. He has been in the Bollywood industry for over four decades, and , has appeared in over 220 films in 13 languages namely Hi ...

Zareen Khan Zareen Khan (born 14 May 1987), also known as Zarine Khan, is an Indian actress and model. Mainly working in the Hindi film industry, she has also appeared in Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films. Khan made her Bollywood debut in 2010 playing a ...

Sohail Khan ) Lambda Velorum (λ Velorum, abbreviated Lambda Vel, λ Vel), officially named Suhail , is a star in the Southern celestial hemisphere, southern constellation of Vela (constellation), Vela. With a mean apparent visual magnitude of 2.21, ...

and

Rishabh Jain Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...

Plot

In 1875, Veer Pratap Singh (

) is a

Pindari The Pindaris were irregular military plunderers and foragers in 17th- through early 19th-century Indian subcontinent who accompanied initially the Mughal army, later the Maratha army, and finally on their own before being eliminated in the 1817� ...

prince and the son of the great Pindari warrior, Prithvi Singh (

), who was known for his great battles to free

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

from the

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. Veer wishes to continue his father's legacy by leading a movement of Pindaris against the British in order to free both the

Rajasthani Rajasthani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India * Rajasthani languages, a group of languages spoken there * Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the region * Rajasthani architecture * Rajasthani art ...

Kingdom of Madhavgarh and the rest of India from the great colonial power. Veer receives the help of his younger brother, Punya Singh (

), in gathering an army. However, Veer finds opposition from the King of Madhavgarh, Gyanendra Singh (

), who sees Veer as a threat to Madhavgarh and his rule and orders for Veer to be killed. Veer and Punya, along with their supporters, go into hiding within the

Thar Desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's Li ...

of Rajasthan, while Singh makes an alliance with the British Governor of Rajasthan, James Fraser (Tim James Lawrence), saying that Madhavgarh will support the British in crushing the Pindari movement and eliminating Veer. To keep the stakes high, the Pindaris kidnap Singh's daughter Princess Yashodhara (

), with who Veer finds himself in love with. The Pindaris then make a failed attempt to take down Singh's palace by surprise. However, Singh's spies discover the plan and thousands of Pindari warriors are slaughtered. Veer fails to get his revenge on the corrupt King, but knows that Punya has been captured by Yashodhara's brother Gajendra (

Puru Raaj Kumar Puru Raaj Kumar (born 30 March 1970) is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood films. He is the son of actor Raaj Kumar and is married to Croatian model Koraljika Grdak. Early life and education He was a student of Gettysburg College where h ...

). As Veer runs in to save his brother and kill Gajendra's men, Gajendra is killed by Veer. Gyanendra vows to avenge his son. In the meantime, Lady Angela Fraser (

Lisa Lazarus Lisa Lazarus is a British model and actress. Biography Lazarus was born in Llanelli, Wales. Lazarus attended the University of Hertfordshire where she studied her degree in Diagnostic Radiography Radiography is an imaging technique usin ...

), wife of James Fraser, begins to question her husband's actions as he supports the evil king in slaughtering members of the Pindari movement. Fraser refuses to back down from his campaign of crushing the movement. After Veer promises his father that he will destroy Singh, he gatecrashes Yashodhara's

Swayamvara Svayamvara ( sa, स्वयंवर, svayaṃvara, translit-std=IAST), in ancient India, was a method of marriage in which a woman chose a man as her husband from a group of suitors. In this context, in Sanskrit means 'self' and means 'g ...

. As he takes the princess away from the fort, Gyanendra Singh sees a vast army of Pindaris surrounding his fort. He asks the British to help him, but they refuse and make the Pindaris their ally in a bid to escape from Madhavgarh. Before the British leave, a battle follows in which Governor Fraser and Gyanendra Singh are killed. Veer, wounded from a gunshot, falls unconscious in the arms of his father. Years later, it is shown that Veer is happily married to Yashodhara. His son (

) and Prithvi have a friendly brawl as credits roll.

Cast

in a

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

as **Veer Pratap Singh/Kunwar Mahendra Pratap Singh (Fake Name) ** Veer "Veera" Pratap Singh Jr. (Veer Mahendra's son) *

as Prithvi Singh, Veer's father *

as Gyanendra Singh, King of Madhavghar and father of Yashodhara *

as Princess Yashodhara Singh * *

as Poonam "Punya" Pratap Singh, Veer's brother * Raj Premi as one of the villains * Rishabh Jain as Radhurath, Veer's friend *

as Gajendra Singh, the prince of Madhavghar, brother to Yashodhara and son to Gyanendra. *

as Lady Angela Fraser, wife of Governor James Fraser * Tim Lawrence as James Fraser, Governor General of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

Karmveer Choudhary Karmveer Choudhary sometimes referred as Karamveer Chaudhary (born 24 July 1963, Jhunjhunu District) is an Indian actor and motivational speaker, best known for his works in Hindi cinema and Indian television. Life and career He started his ...

as Mantri of Gyanendra Singh * Khurram Tejrar * Gita Soto *

Neena Gupta Neena Gupta (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian actress and television director who works in Hindi films and television. Known for her work in both art-house and commercial films, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for pl ...

as Mangla Singh, Veer's mother *

Aryan Vaid Aryan Vaid (born 4 July 1976) is an Indian model, who won the Graviera Mister India World modelling pageant in the year 2000. He also went on to win the Mister International Award in 2000. He was a contestant in the reality show ''Bigg Boss' ...

as Sujan Singh *

Bharat Dabholkar Bharat, or Bharath, may refer to: * Bharat (term), the name for India in various Indian languages ** Bharata Khanda, the Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent (or South Asia) * Bharata, the name of several legendary figures or groups: ** Bhar ...

Bunny Anand Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit species ...

* Shahbaz Khan as Naunihal * Ashok Samarth as Mangal * Militza Radmilovic * Charissa Glidden as the Governess *

Roy Bronsgeest Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

as Rhino *

Taylor Wright Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

* Luke Groves * Fiona Grace as Nina Frances *

Christoph Beiter Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenho ...

as English soldier * Clay Mohr as English Sergeant. * Raj Khatri as Gyanendra Singh's Senapati. * Ajay Kalyansingh as Arab prince

Production

The story was written by Salman Khan twenty years ago, who described it as his dream project. At that time, Khan planned to direct the film himself and cast

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...

in the lead role. ''Veer'' is also partly based on the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

novel ''

Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (russian: «Тарас Бульба»; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons And ...

'' by

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

. For his role as Veer, Salman Khan went on a special diet and worked out with a personal trainer. For her role as a 19th-century princess,

Zarine Khan Zareen Khan (born 14 May 1987), also known as Zarine Khan, is an Indian actress and model. Mainly working in the Hindi film industry, she has also appeared in Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films. Khan made her Bollywood debut in 2010 playing a pr ...

put on eight kilos of extra weight. Principal photography for ''Veer'' began on 1 December 2008. Portions of the film were originally scheduled to be shot at the

College of Engineering Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that ...

and the Agricultural College in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, but due to the swine flu outbreak the locations were moved to Mumbai. Other location shooting took place in Jaipur and

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of ...

. Location shooting at

Amber Fort Amer Fort or Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer, Rajasthan, India. Amer is a town with an area of located from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Amber city and Amber fort were founded by ruler Alan Singh of Chanda dynasty of Meenas. Located ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

was also interrupted when several onlookers were injured and the

Rajasthan High Court The Rajasthan High Court is the High Court of the state of Rajasthan. It was established on 29 August 1949 under the ''Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949''. The seat of the court is at Jodhpur. The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 50. ...

ordered a halt to filming. A case was filed against Anil Sharma accusing the film crew of damaging the fort, violating several conservation laws and causing the structure's 500-year-old roof to collapse. The crew finished their shoot after paying Rs. 2 million in damages.

Rochester Castle Rochester Castle stands on the east bank of the River Medway in Rochester, Kent, South East England. The 12th-century keep or stone tower, which is the castle's most prominent feature, is one of the best preserved in England or France. Situate ...

appears as a backdrop for a musical sequence named 'Everytime I look into your eyes I see my paradise' featuring a horse and carriage. The

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

provided the setting for many of the montage shots used in the UK dance sequences as well as the location where Veer first meets Yuvraji Yashodhara. On 23 January 2010, author Pavan Chaudhary filed a Rs. 2 million suit against Khan, Anil Sharma and producer Vijay Kumar Galani, alleging that the film borrowed elements from his novel, ''Trilogy of Wisdom''. The suit called for a halt of the film's screenings.

Release

The trailer of ''Veer'' was released on 27 November 2009 at the screening of

Priyadarshan Priyadarshan (born 30 January 1957) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam and Hindi films, while also having done six films in Tamil and two films in Telugu. He has done about 31 films in Hi ...

's ''

De Dana Dan ''De Dana Dan'' ( Hit left and right) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Priyadarshan. The story is a partial adaptation of Hollywood film '' Screwed'' and some scenes were taken from Priyadarshan's own Malayalam film ''Ve ...

''.

Reception

Critical reception

The movie was generally panned by critics.

Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media. Career Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...

criticized the writing and direction of the movie, describing it as a colossal disappointment.

Rajeev Masand Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in hi ...

CNN-IBN CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internationa ...

termed it as "an impossible film to appreciate", criticizing the performance of the support cast, while praising the performance of Salman Khan. Gaurav Malani praised the performance of Salman Khan, while terming the story as average. Noyon Jyoti Parasara of AOL.in also praised Salman Khan but added "Overall, 'Veer' has its pluses but it is sadly restricted to a very average film. It has nothing new and that only makes it seem slower." Among U.S. critics,

Frank Lovece Frank Lovece () is an American journalist and author, and a comic book writer primarily for Marvel Comics, where he and artist Mike Okamoto created the miniseries ''Atomic Age''. His longest affiliation has been with the New York metropolitan ar ...

of ''

Film Journal International ''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of ''Adweek'', '' Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodicals. H ...

'' enjoyed it as "hokum of the highest order, punctuated with the most rousing musical sequences of the last several Indian imports," and after dissecting the film's numerous historical and chronological fallacies said, "Stateside Bollywood fans more accustomed to modern-day musical romances or stylish crime thrillers will be pleasantly surprised to find a period piece that's more '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' than ''

A Passage to India ''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English litera ...

''.

Box office

According to Eros, ''Veer'' grossed Rs 410 million nett in its first week in India. Veer netted a lifetime of Rs 375.2 million (Rs 497.5 million gross) in India and was the 9th highest-grossing film domestically of 2010. Veer has a worldwide lifetime gross of Rs 585.8 million ($12,600,000).

Criticism by Rajput community

The

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

youth organisation

Karni Sena Karni Sena (; ), known as Shri Rajput Karni Sena (, : ), is an organisation based in Rajasthan, India. Founded by Lokendra Singh Kalvi and led by Mahipal Singh Makrana, Vishwabandhu Singh Rathore and others. It takes its name from Karni Mata, ...

was heavily critical of ''Veer'', alleging that portions of the dialogue are "derogatory and demeaning for the Rajput community". Members of the group attacked several multiplexes in Jaipur, vandalising posters and smashing windows. Anil Sharma responded that it was a misunderstanding and no insult had been intended towards the Rajput community.

Awards and nominations

; 2011 Zee Cine Awards * Nominated – Best Female Debut –

;

3rd Mirchi Music Awards The 3rd Mirchi Music Awards, presented by Radio Mirchi, honored the best of Hindi music from the year 2010. The ceremony was held on 27 January 2011 at the Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, and was hosted by Shaan and Sonu Nigam. The program featur ...

* Nominated – Lyricist of The Year –

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

for "Surili Akhiyon Wale"

Soundtrack

The film's music was released on 17 December 2009. The film's songs are composed by

Sajid–Wajid Sajid–Wajid was an Indian Bollywood Hindi film music director duo consisting of brothers Sajid Khan and Wajid Khan, the sons of Sharafat Ali Khan, a tabla player. Wajid Khan, the younger of the two brothers, died on June 1, 2020. Since th ...

, the film scores were composed by

Monty Sharma Monty Sharma (born 17 April 1970) is a music composer from India scoring music for Bollywood. He is popular for being the background music composer for ''Black'' (2005), '' Ram-Leela'' (2013) and music director for ''Saawariya'' (2007). He is cou ...

and the lyrics are written by lyricist

. Music critic Joginder Tuteja of

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides ...

gave it an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5. The songs, ''Surili Akhiyon Wale'', ''Salaam Aaya'' and ''Taali'' received special praise.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Veer 2010 films 2010s historical action films 2010s Hindi-language films Indian epic films Films based on Taras Bulba Films set in India Films shot in India Films shot in London Films set in the 1820s 2010s historical drama films Films set in London Films set in the 19th century Films shot in Rajasthan Fiction set in 1825 Indian historical drama films Indian historical action films Films directed by Anil Sharma 2010 drama films