Veer-Zaara

Rachel Newsham

HIND 2441

Professor Brueck

15 April, 2010

Veer-Zaara Film Review

Veer-Zaara is a moving love story about a Sikh pilot from India, and a Muslim girl from Pakistan. The strength of this film lies in its clear social critique of marriage, the status of women, and relations between India and Pakistan. At the beginning of the film we are introduced to Saamiya Siddique, a female lawyer from Pakistan, who is about to take on her first case. We, the audience, are informed that the State of Pakistan has recently decided to reopen the cases of several Indian prisoners. In order to thwart her progress as a lawyer and prevent women from treading into the male domain, Saamiya has been assigned to represent Veer’s case in court. Veer has not spoken a word to anyone for the last twenty-two years of his imprisonment and many believe that his case is impossible. It is here that the film makes its first strong feminist statement. In introducing herself to Veer, Saamiya explains that if she is able to win his case, it will grant him his freedom while empowering women in Pakistan to take on jobs otherwise forbidden to them. Much to her delight, Saamiya is able to break through Veer’s twenty-two years of silence simply by recognizing him as a human and addressing him by his given name rather than the number he has been given as a prisoner. After hearing his name and listening to Saamiya’s plight, Veer is reminded of who he is and begins to relate his tale of love, sorrow, and faithfulness that has unjustly led him to his current state of imprisonment.

Veer’s story begins to unfold in flashbacks to an act of devotion performed by a girl he had never met before. Zaara, the daughter of a powerful Pakistani politician, has gone across the border of India and Pakistan to fulfill the last wish of Bebe, her former nursemaid. On her deathbed, Bebe explained to Zaara that she had been living in Pakistan with Zaara’s family ever since the Partition of India and Pakistan. Although we are not told if she came to Pakistan of her own volition, alluding to the mayhem and tragedies surrounding the time of the Partition, Bebe explains to Zaara that she considers being Hindustani to be her sole identity. Her final wish is to be reunited with her country and her people. Referencing the Partition in this way is something that most film producers in India are unwilling to undertake due to the sensitivity of the subject (Das, 455). Yash Chopra’s allusion to this tragic time-period is expressed further in his underlying theme of reuniting India and Pakistan, which I will discuss further later. Transcending national prejudice and boundaries, Zaara agrees to fulfill Bebe’s last wish by taking her ashes to Kiritpur and immersing them in the river there. Her trip, however, is not as simple as she may have imagined. After crossing the border, Zaara’s bus falls off a cliff and pilot Veer Pratap Singh comes to her rescue. After finding out that Zaara has come on behalf of a Sikh woman’s last wish, Veer, also a Sikh, puts off his own travel itinerary to accompany Zaara to Kiritpur. The temple priest who performs the last rites is stunned by Zaara’s devotion. Having been at the temple for forty-two years, he had never before seen a Muslim, let alone a Pakistani come to the temple on behalf of a Sikh Hindustani. The Sikh priest praises Zaara for her devotion claiming that she had done more than even a real daughter would have done in her place. This is a significant dialogue in terms of religious and nationalist prejudice, both of which are commonly portrayed in Hindi films.

After performing the last rites for Bebe, Veer invites Zaara to his village where he introduces her to his Uncle and Aunt who have spent their entire lives invested in the development of their village and community. Later that afternoon, Veer’s Uncle takes Zaara on a bike ride through the village, pointing out the many changes he and his wife have made. Zaara is quite impressed until they reach the local school. Bauji explains that after the children have finished their primary school, the boys are sent away for higher education while the girls must stay in the village to learn how to look after the household. In response, Zaara gets off of Bauji’s bike and looks him straight in the face saying: “That’s not fair Bauji… while you made the men capable of facing the world you disabled the women... Girls today have reached the moon. They walk shoulder to shoulder with men. With education perhaps a girl from this village could’ve outdone Veer.” Bauji is taken by surprise by such a bold statement, but he takes it to heart as a legitimate argument. That evening, during the lighting of the Lodi fire, Bauji makes an announcement to the entire village: instead of building a new cricket pitch, he has decided to build a school for girls so that they can continue their education without having to leave the village. Although this implies that the girl’s main responsibility is still to take care of the household, it is certainly a step forward. This confrontation stretches the envelope of social commentary we have seen thus far in Hindi films. Movies like Sholay and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge for example have successfully brought up issues of social injustice within Indian society but have merely hinted at possible solutions, solutions that are never realized within the space of the film. Not only does Veer-Zaara successfully bring up issues of injustice towards women in Indian society, it also provides us with a clear, tangible solution for such an issue.

Following on the heels of feminist issues within the film, we are presented with the contention between arranged and love marriages within Indian society. Veer has, coincidentally, brought Zaara to his village at the time of the Lodi festival. One of the changes Veer’s Uncle has implemented in the village is the ability for men and women to publicly declare their love for each other. After observing the ceremony, Zaara asks Veer’s Aunt what it’s significance is. Maati explains that when she was younger, romance, or love, was a taboo. “One night during Lodi he [Veer’s Uncle] asked for my hand in front of everybody. My parent’s didn’t know what to say, and we got married.” She goes on to explain that Veer’s Uncle has implemented this custom in their village: “if a boy is in love with a girl, he confesses his love in front of everyone. If the girl wants to refuse, she quietly throws a fistful of sesame into the fire. If she wants to accept, she calls out the boy’s name and breaks sugar cane.” This custom, though fictitious, is in direct opposition to the traditional method of arranged marriages in which it is the parents who decide whom their children will marry. Although this is not a new concept in Hindi cinema by any means, the stress on giving women the right to accept or reject the man’s proposal is a significant and playful twist.

In contrast to the forward thinking portrayed in the Indian village, we are reminded that Zaara is from Pakistan and must abide by the rules of her own family. Zaara has previously been engaged to the son of another powerful Pakistani politician in order to secure her father’s party’s status. In preparing for her engagement ceremony, Zaara begins to wonder about her future marriage with Razaa, her fiancé. Will he, like those in Veer’s village, love her enough to lay down his life for her? She exposes her fear of the contrary by questioning her mother’s devotion to her own husband; would she willingly give up her life on his behalf? Her mother answers affirmatively claiming that she would do anything for him. When Zaara reverses the question, asking if her father would give up his life on behalf of his wife, her mother explains that: “a woman loves with all her heart and soul,” while “men do not have the strength to love like that.” Although this is a rash statement at best, it helps us understand that Zaara’s marriage was not to be based on love, rather it was supposed to be a fulfillment of duty. Zaara, with the voice of Veer wafting through her mind, tells her mother that there is a man who would forsake everything for her love, even his own life. Her mother replies that love is not something one can find in reality, it is a fairy-tale-like phenomena found only in books and poetry.

Before leaving her at the train station, Veer had expressed his love for Zaara in the terms mentioned above. At the time, Zaara did not reciprocate his feelings, however, after returning to Pakistan, Veer haunted her every thought, fostering love and passion within Zaara’s own heart. The drama continues to unfold with Veer arriving in Pakistan to take Zaara away as his bride. His arrival upsets Zaara’s father into a state of shock, which the doctor warns may end in death if they are not careful. Zaara’s mother turns to Veer to remedy the situation by asking him to return Zaara’s allegiance back to her parents. Veer assures her that he had no intention of taking Zaara away without her parent’s blessings, reminiscent of Raj in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. In his farewell to Zaara, Veer makes a vow that their love for each other will never weaken, but that they will fulfill their duties to their elders. She is to fulfill this vow by honoring her parents and being a good wife while he is to fulfill his Uncle’s dreams back in the village. This show of filial piety is another common motif within Hindi cinema. Devotion and obedience to one’s parents is one of the underlying laws within Hindi society. Although this film does not linger very long on this motif, it should be pointed out that Veer, a Hindustani, considers Zaara’s Pakistani parents as his own, once again alluding to the theme of reuniting India and Pakistan.

Before Veer is able to leave the country, Zaara’s fiancé Raza, has Veer arrested on the pretense that Veer is an Indian air force spy. In the interrogation room, Raza explains that he is seeking revenge for the humility he has received from Veer and Zaara and recompense for the future life he will have to spend with a woman who will always love another. Raza provides Veer with an ultimatum: Veer can either remain silently within the four walls of a prison for the rest of his life, disowning his own identity and ensuring a life full of happiness for Zaara, or else he can betray his love for Zaara and buy his freedom. In order to prove the legitimacy of his love for Zaara, Veer agrees to the terms set before him, remaining silent for twenty-two years in a prison in Lahore. In order to protect Zaara’s supposed life of happiness, Veer convinces Saamiya to take his story and transform it into a case of identity. She successfully argues that the judicial system has stripped a man of his humanness on false grounds and must remedy such atrocities. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Saamiya is able to win her case, signifying a victory in regards to the progress of women in society.

In closing, I will return to my previous statement about Chopra’s underlying message of reuniting India and Pakistan. During the court hearing, after Veer has been granted amnesty, he reads off a poem that he has written about his time in prison and what he has come to realize about the two countries. Lines like “they say that ‘this is not your country’, then why does it feel like mine?” And “he says that I do not look like him, then why does he look like me?” point out that the differences between Indians and Pakistanis are not related to issues about their land, which used to be whole, or ethnicity, which used to be united. Although he does not come out and say it, the separation of the two countries is based on hurt, pride, and anger. Veer’s poem is a reflection of the opening song “Aisa des hai mera” in which Veer is showing off the beauty of his country and its traditions to Zaara. In response, Zaara is overwhelmed by the similarities between the two countries and proclaims: “I have seen and understood your country, I don’t know why it all seems familiar. Such is also my country. Same as your land?” Being able to understand the commonalities between the two countries seems to be one of Chopra’s solutions for the reunification of India and Pakistan.

Another solution Chopra offers is displayed in one of the last scenes when Zakir Ahmed, the prestigious lawyer acting as the offence to Saamiya’s case, explains to Saamiya that,

“Now I understand that the future of both these countries is in the hands of youngsters like you who do not measure humans as big/small, man/woman, Hindu/Muslim, who don’t rake up bitter war memories of 1947-65 and 1999 on every pretext, who wish to address the future with the truth and only the truth. And there’s no stopping a country where truth prevails. Thank you for teaching me the value of truth and justice.”

These closing words are a clear statement against the common mindsets held by Indians and Pakistanis. It appears that Chopra’s desire is to go beyond the wounds inflicted by the Partition and separation of India and Pakistan to a place where the reunification of the two countries can be realized.

Chopra’s themes of love-marriages, the advancement of women in society, and the reunion of two countries is a powerful addition to the genre of Bollywood films. Chopra is able to take a fantastical setting and imbed within it strong social critiques that have legitimate problems and solutions. The love story itself is a picture of reuniting India and Pakistan with Veer representing India and Zaara representing Pakistan. These characters, emblematic of their countries, are taken on a journey of passionate love, an unjust separation, and, finally, a joyous reunion. I strongly recommend this film to anyone interested in these three themes.