Veer (2010 film)

Veer (2010 film)
Veer is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language epic action film directed by Anil Sharma on a story by Salman Khan. It stars Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff, Zareen Khan, Sohail Khan and Rishabh Jain
Plot
In 1875, 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 the 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 Madhavgarh 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 Madhavgarh, Gyanendra Singh (Jackie Shroff), 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 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 (Zareen Khan), with whom 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 kill Gajendra's men, Gajendra is killed by Veer. Gyanendra vows to avenge 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 destroy Singh, he gatecrashes Yashodhara's Swayamvara. 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, succumbs in the arms of his father. Years later, Veer's son "Veera" (Salman Khan) and Prithvi have a friendly brawl as credits roll.
Cast
Salman Khan in a dual role as
Veer Pratap Singh / Kunwar Mahendra Pratap Singh (Fake)
Veer Pratap Singh Jr. ("Veera"), Veer's son
Mithun Chakraborty as Prithvi Singh, Veer's father
Jackie Shroff as Gyanendra Singh, King of Madhavghar and father of Yashodhara
Zareen Khan as Princess Yashodhara Singh
Sohail Khan as Poonam "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 Gyanendra Singh
Khurram Tejrar
Gita Soto
Neena Gupta as Mangla Singh, Veer's mother
Aryan Vaid as Sujan Singh
Bharat Dabholkar
Bunny Anand
Shahbaz Khan as Naunihal
Ashok Samarth as Mangal
Militza Radmilovic
Charissa Glidden as the Governess
Roy Bronsgeest as Rhino
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, who described it as his dream project. At that time, Khan planned to direct the film himself and cast Sanjay Dutt in the lead role. Veer is also partly based on the Russian novel Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol. 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 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 and the Agricultural College in Pune, but due to the swine flu outbreak the locations were moved to Mumbai. 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. The crew finished their shoot after paying Rs. 2 million in damages.
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.
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's De Dana Dan.
ASTPL, an Indian software developer, also released a mobile video game based on the film.
Reception
Critical reception
The movie was generally panned by critics. Taran Adarsh criticized the writing and direction of the movie, describing it as a colossal disappointment. 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. 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 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.
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 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.
Awards and nominations
2011 Zee Cine Awards
Nominated – Best Female Debut – Zarine Khan
3rd Mirchi Music Awards
Nominated – Lyricist of The Year – Gulzar for "Surili Akhiyon Wale"
Soundtrack
The film's music was released on 14 December 2009. The film's songs are composed by Sajid–Wajid, the film scores are composed by Monty Sharma 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. The songs, Surili Akhiyon Wale, Salaam Aaya and Taali received special praise.
See also
List of historical drama films of Asia
References
External links
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
2010s historical drama films
Films set in London
Films shot in Rajasthan
Films set in 1875
Indian historical drama films
Indian historical action films
Films directed by Anil Sharma
2010 drama films
Film controversies in India
Race-related controversies in film
Works subject to a lawsuit
Films set in the Rajput Empire
Films set in the British Raj
Films involved in plagiarism controversies
Art works that caused riots
Films adapted for other media