Veer (2010 film)

Veer (transl. Brave) is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language epic action film directed by Anil Sharma, and starring Salman Khan, Zareen Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff, Sohail Khan, Rishabh Jain.

Veer
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnil Sharma
Screenplay byShailash Verma
Shaktimaan Talwar
Story bySalman Khan
Based onTaras Bulba
by Nikolai Gogol
StarringSalman Khan
Zareen Khan
Mithun Chakraborty
Jackie Shroff
Sohail Khan
Music bySajid-Wajid
Edited byAshfaque Makrani
Production
company
Eros Entertainment
Distributed byEros Entertainment
Release date
  • 22 January 2010 (2010-01-22)
Running time
164 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box officeest. ₹64.71 crore

Plot

Veer Pratap Singh (Salman Khan) is a Pindari prince and the son of the great Pindari warrior, Prithvi Singh (Mithun Chakraborty), who was known for his great battles to free India from British rule. Veer wishes to continue his father's legacy by leading a movement of Pindaris against the British in order to free both the Rajasthani Kingdom of Madhavghar and the rest of India from the great colonial power. Veer receives the help of his younger brother, Punya Singh (Sohail Khan) in gathering an army. However Veer finds opposition from the King of Madhavghar, Gyanendra Singh (Jackie Shroff), who sees Veer as a threat to Madhavghar and his rule and orders for Veer to be killed. Veer and Punya along with their supporters go into hiding within the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, while Singh makes an alliance with the British Governor of Rajasthan, James Fraser (Tim James Lawrence), saying that Madhavghar will support the British in crushing the Pindari movement and eliminating Veer.

To keep stakes high, the Pindaris kidnap Singh's daughter Princess Yashodhara (Zareen Khan), 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) as Veer runs in to save his brother and kills Gajendra's men but Gajendra is killed to when he gets punched by Veer and lands on a sword which Gyanendra seeks revenge for his son. In the meantime, Lady Angela Fraser (Lisa Lazarus), 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 finish Singh, he gatecrashes Yashodhara's Swayamvara. As he takes the princess away from the fort, Gyanendra Singh sees a vast army of Pindaris has surrounded his fort. He asks the British to help him but they refuse and make the Pindaris their ally in a bid to escape from Madhavghar. Before the British leave a battle follows in which the Governor 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's son and Prithvi are having a friendly fight.

Cast
  • Salman Khan as Veer Pratap Singh/Veera (Dual role)
  • Zareen Khan as Princess Yashodhara
  • Mithun Chakraborty as Prithvi Singh, Veer's Father
  • Jackie Shroff as Gyanendra Singh, King of Madhavghar and Father of Yashodhara
  • Sohail Khan as Punya Pratap Singh, Veer's Brother
  • Raj Premi as one of the villains
  • Rishabh Jain as Radhurath, Veer's friend
  • Puru Raaj Kumar as Gajendra Singh, the prince of Madhavghar, brother to Yashodhara and son to Gyanendra.
  • Lisa Lazarus as Lady Angela Fraser, wife of Governor James Fraser
  • Tim Lawrence as James Fraser, Governor General of Rajasthan
  • Karmveer Choudhary as Mantri of Jackie Shroff
  • Khurram Tejrar
  • Gita Soto
  • Neena Gupta as Veer's mother
  • Aryan Vaid
  • Bharat Dabholkar
  • Bunny Anand[1]
  • Shahbaz Khan as Naunihal
  • Militza Radmilovic
  • Charissa Glidden as the Governess
  • Roy Bronsgeest as Rhino[2]
  • Taylor Wright
  • Luke Groves
  • Fiona Grace as Nina Frances
  • Christoph Beiter 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,[3] who described it as his dream project.[4] At that time, Khan planned to direct the film himself and cast Sanjay Dutt in the lead role.[5] Veer is also partly based on the Russian novel Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol.[6] For his role as Veer, Salman Khan went on a special diet and worked out with a personal trainer.[7] For her role as a 19th-century princess, Zarine Khan put on eight kilos of extra weight.[8]

Principal photography for Veer began on 1 December 2008. Portions of the film were originally scheduled to be shot at the College of Engineering and the Agricultural College in Pune, but due to the swine flu outbreak the locations were moved to Mumbai.[9] Other location shooting took place in Jaipur and Bikaner. Location shooting at Amber Fort in Jaipur was also interrupted when several onlookers were injured and the Rajasthan High Court 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.[10] The crew finished their shoot after paying Rs. 2 million in damages.[11]

Rochester Castle 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 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.[12]

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.[13][14]

Marketing

The trailer of Veer was released on 27 November 2009 at the screening of Priyadarshan's De Dana Dan.[15]

Reception

Critical reception

The movie was generally panned by critics.[16] Taran Adarsh criticized the writing and direction of the movie, describing it as a colossal disappointment.[17] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN termed it as "an impossible film to appreciate", criticizing the performance of the support cast, while praising the performance of Salman Khan.[18] Gaurav Malani praised the performance of Salman Khan, while terming the story as average.[19] 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."[20]

Among U.S. critics, Frank Lovece of Film Journal International 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.[21]

Criticism by Rajput community

The Rajput youth organisation Karni Sena 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.[22]

Box office

According to Eros, Veer grossed Rs 410 million nett in its first week in India.[23] 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.[24]

Veer has a worldwide lifetime gross of Rs 585.8 million ($12,600,000).[25]

Awards and nominations
2011 Zee Cine Awards
3rd Mirchi Music Awards

Soundtrack
Veer
Soundtrack album by
Sajid- Wajid
Released17 December 2009 (2009-12-17)
GenreFilm soundtrack
LabelEros Music

The film's music was released on 17 December 2009. The film's songs are composed by Sajid–Wajid and the lyrics are written by lyricist Gulzar.

Music critic Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave it an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5.[28] The songs, Surili Akhiyon Wale, Salaam Aaya and Taali received special praise.[28]

No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Meherbaniyan"Sonu Nigam4:29
2."Taali"Sonu Nigam, Sukhwinder Singh, Wajid, Neuman Pinto6:10
3."Surili Akhiyon Wale"Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Suzanne D'Mello5:31
4."Kanha (Thumari)"Rekha Bhardwaj, Sharib Sabri, Toshi Sabri, Shabab Sabri4:36
5."Taali"Sukhwinder Singh6:01
6."Surili Akhiyon Wale"Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Suzanne D'Mello5:23
7."Salaam Aaya"Roop Kumar Rathod, Shreya Ghoshal, Suzanne D'Mello4:45
8."Spirit of Veer" (Instrumental) 0:58

See also

List of historical drama films of Asia

References
  1. Subhadeep Bhattacharjee (23 November 2009). "Salman saved Bunny Anand's life". One India.com. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  2. Manohar Charla. "'I Fight Veer to Win the Princess!' – Roy Bronsgeest", BollySpice.com, 21 January 2010 Archived 24 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Salman Khan's 'Veer' on January 22". Press Trust of India. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  4. Salman Khan (24 November 2009). "My Dream Project ...VEER". Official Blog by Salman Khan. Eros Entertainment. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  5. "When Men Were Men". Indian Express. 8 January 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  6. Firdaus Ashraf, Syed (8 January 2009). "'I don't want to make depressing films for my fans'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  7. Aparajita Ghosh (5 April 2008). "Salman Khan gets brawnier for 'Veer'". ApunkaChoice.com. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  8. Subhadeep Bhattacharjee (16 December 2009). "Salman made Zarine Khan gain weight". One India. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  9. "Swine flu, they fled!". Mid Day. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  10. "Case against Amber bosses,'Veer' unit". Times of India. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  11. "Salman given a second chance to shoot 'Veer' at Amber Fort". Screen. 19 February 2009. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  12. Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Veer Film Focus".
  13. "Court notice to Veer Salman over copyright violation". The Hindu. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  14. "Court to hear lawsuit against 'Veer' Monday". Indiatimes. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  15. "Salman's Veer releases on Jan 22". Times of India. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 7 December 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  16. "Veer had a bumper first day at single screens". BoxOffice India. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  17. "Review: Veer is a colossal disappointment!". Sify. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  18. "Masand Movie Review: Veer is an impossible film". CNN IBN. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  19. "Director: Anil Sharma Cast: Salman Khan, Zarine Khan Rating:** Veer: Movie Review". Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  20. "Rating:**1/2 Veer: Movie Review". AOL.in. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  21. Lovece, Frank. Veer (review), Film Journal International , 25 January 2010
  22. Divya Kaushik and Shweta Thakur (1 February 2010). "Sallu's Veer in trouble". Times of India. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  23. Press Trust India (27 January 2010). "Despite poor review, Salman's Veer steady at box office". Daily News & Analysis. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  24. Boxofficeindia.com Archived 14 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  25. "Boxofficeindia.com". Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  26. "Nominations for Zee Cine Awards 2011". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  27. "Nominees - Mirchi Music Award Hindi 2010". 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  28. Joginder Tutega (21 December 2009). "Veer: Music Review". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
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