Sydney Blach
Bollywood; TR 3:30-4:45
Film Review; Veer-Zaara

Just another Shah Ruhk Love-Story

Veer-Zaara is yet another tragic love story starring the classic silver-screen couple Shah Ruhk Khan, and Preity Zinta, as well as the Shahruhk- Amitabh Bachchan duo- a guaranteed award-winning line up. Yash Chopra, known as the eternal romantic, directed the film, which was written by his daughter Aditya Chopra, adding to his list yet another successful romantic film. This he claims however, will be the last film he will have directed. Veer-Zaara was released on November 12, 2004 and gained immediate success in box-offices world wide, earning it an estimated 357 million dollars; 2 million in the United States alone.
The love story between Veer Singh (Shah Ruhk Khan) and Zaara Khan (Preity Zinta) begins when the beautiful Pakistani heiress travels to a discrete city in India in order to fulfill the dying wish her Bebe, which was to spread her ashes in the river in the holy Sikh city alongside her ancestors. Amongst arrival, the bus she traveled on gets into a wreck but the distressed damsel is rescued by none other than the brave hero, Veer who happens to be a pilot in the Indian Air Force. After lives are saved and final wishes are fulfilled, romantic feelings between the two are undeniable. Veer proceeds to convince Zaara to take a trip to his hometown where Zaara, as well as the audience are introduced to Veer’s very accepting parents. Despite there apparent religious and culturally differences, the couple falls madly in love with one another. Matters are complicated, of course, when Veer finds out Zaara is already another man’s bride-to-be.
Heartbroken and hopeless, Veer sends Zaara on a train back to Pakistan with the belief that they will never see one another again. His optimism is restored after he receives a phone call informing him the Zaara is equally as miserable without him and has refused to proceed with her marriage to her fiancée, probably because he turns out to be a real jerk. Motivated by love, Veer quits the Indian Air Force and flees to Pakistan to retrieve his lover.
Things don’t go quite as smoothly as he naively assumed, and being that he is a Hindu, and Zaara is a Muslim, Zaara’s refuse the union. Being the respectful man that he is, Veer plans to return; defeated and bride-less; back to India- but this of course will not be gravy either. Being the pissed off and strong headed man that he is, Raza (Zaara’s fiancée) refuses to let Veer walk away without getting revenge for trying to steal his bride. He manipulatively frames Veer as an Indian spy which earns him 22 years in jail.
22 years later, Veer is introduced to Saamiya Siddiqui, the ruthlessly determined lawyer assigned to his thought-to-be-hopeless case. After failing to prove his innocence repeatedly Saamiya goes to the source of his true identity- his hometown, where she coincidentally runs into Zaara who has been in search for Veer and his family for a long time. As Veer had mentioned, the only way to prove he really is not the Indian spy they have mistaken him for, Zaara and her family will have to speak on his behalf, which is precisely what happens, finally releasing Veer and reuniting the lovers, Veer and Zaara. Who of course, return to India and live happily ever after. But don’t get me wrong- it’s a great film!