Veer and Zaara is a film about two individuals - Veer and Zaara - and a secondary character (since this movie is about Veer and Zaara) that plays the role of an integral personality to bring this film together. The film’s about – no, I’m not going to repeat the earlier sentence -.
That’s how Veer-Zaara makes you feel. A story predictable from the very beginning, and portrayed on the bollywood screen millions of times.
The only change made to the movie is that its setting is a bit different. Veer Pratap Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) is a squadron leader in the Indian Air Force. Zaara Haayat Khan (Preity Zinta) is a Pakistani girl, from an influential family.
They meet by chance, when Zaara comes to India to spread her grandmother’s ashes. Her grandmother’s last wish was to rest eternally in her beloved Punjab, and Zaara undertakes the task.
On the way, an accident occurs, and here Veer rescues her.
A love story unfolds.
En route, the two meet Veer’s adoptive parents, his uncle and aunt, played by the ever youthful Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. A lovely pair but quite under-used in the movie.
So here’s the fairy-tale.
Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful Pakistani girl, who fell in love with an Indian man. However, the girl was engaged to be married to someone else. When her lover came to fetch her from home, the girl, unable to stop herself, ran into his arms, in front of her fiancé and all. The beautiful couple are not allowed to live happily ever after. When the girl’s mother comes to the lad and asks him to leave, so that her little girl can marry who her parents wish and save her father’s life and honour, he agrees.
The story takes another twist when the girl’s fiancé, through his influence, captivates the young lover in a Pakistani jail, promising him that for his suffering, he’s affirming Zaara a life of peace and love.
Where does this lead, you might wonder. I wondered too. And I was left wondering for a long time.
So were Veer and Zaara. Veer spent the next twenty-two years of his life in jail. Zaara spent her time fulfilling Veer’s dreams in India.
The story’s touching, but there’s an overdose of sacrifice and love, which makes the movie irritating.
The story finds its conclusion in Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukherjee), a young lawyer who takes up Veer’s case and promises him the freedom he deserves. In the end, it is she who unites the two lovers and makes sure that their story of unison will be as eternal as that of Romeo and Juliet’s.
Since the movie is worth one watch, I’ll leave you with the unfinished story.
Shah Rukh Khan was adequate, but was as is usual, playing what I like to call his typical rona-dhona role. Why does the man have to cry in every movie that he acts? It’s as if he’s the Epitome of Sentimentality in Bollywood. Newer movies like Swades and Paheli are like a whiff of fresh air, when he plays a character that is not crying. At least not all the time.
Preity Zinta looked pretty, but in my opinion, didn’t quite look the role. She was the perky and charming girl that she played in Dil Chahta Hai, but she needed a few variations to fit in perfectly into the role of a Pakistani muslim girl, from a conservative family.
This is where I think Rani Mukherjee stole the show. With her tone, her poise and her carriage, she not only looked a Pakistani muslim girl, but it seemed like she could be nothing else but. Definitely tops in the acting department in the entire film.
Manoj Bajpai plays Raza Shirazi, Zaara’s fiance. However, his part is underbaked, perhaps to shine the limelight even more on the couple in question. However, through his acting, this talented actor still manages to capture the screen and leave an impression in the film.
Boman Irani and Kirron Kher were great as Zaara’s parents. However, their performances were cast aside as yet another one of the movie’s mass of special appearances.
There lies another fault of the movie. It is littered with special appearances from various talented actors. Not only does this not allow the actors to shine in the limelight, the bringing of so many charactrers diverts from the story. Starting right from Anupam Kher to Manoj Bajpai, the list of special appearances run on.
Overall this film is worth one watch. Shah Rukh fans might go gaga over it, but it’s nothing special, but just another love story. Something that’s nice, but will not linger for long.