Veer

<p>In 1875, Veer Pratap Singh ( ) is a warrior and the son of the great Pindari warrior, Prithvi Singh ( ), who was known for his great battles for his people. The Pindaris have a long feud with Gyanendra Singh ( ), the king of the Kingdom of Madhavgarh. The king had allied with the British and massacred several thousand Pindaris, leading to years of war and unrest. Along the way, Veer encounters Princess Yashodhara ( ), the daughter of Gyanendra Singh, and is mesmerised by her beauty. As the Pindaris are illiterate with little knowledge of the world outside their country, Veer and his younger brother, Punya Singh ( ), are sent to complete their education at a college in London. Although the college had several class and racial distinctions, Veer and his brother managed to use their time to learn the ways of the British. He also manages to get close to Yashodhara, who is also a student at the college with her older brother, Crown Prince Gajendra ( ). A few months before the completion of their education, Yashodhara’s brother, who has been planning to quell the Pindari revolution, discovers Veer and Punya’s true identity. As Veer runs in to save his brother and kill Gajendra’s men, Gajendra is killed by Veer. A heartbroken Yashodhara asks Veer to never see her again and to not step foot in Madhavgarh. On their return to India, Yashodhara is crowned the Crown Princess of Madhavgarh but is unable to forget Veer despite them being on opposing sides of the war. Gyanendra, who is still reeling from Gajendra’s death, vows to avenge his son. Veer, on the other hand, receives permission from his parents to take Yashodhara as his wife. However, he finds opposition from the King of Madhavgarh, Gyanendra Singh, 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, make a plan to infiltrate Madhavgarh, 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. After Veer promises his father that he will destroy Singh, he gatecrashes Yashodhara’s . 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 are trapped as well, and so they 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. Wounded from a gunshot, Veer dies in the arms of his father. Years later, Veer’s son “Veera” ( ) and Prithvi have a friendly brawl as credits roll. Salman Khan conceived the film in 1990 while shooting for , describing it as his dream project. Khan had initially planned to direct the film himself and had considered for the lead role. Eventually, agreed to direct the film. is also partly based on the novel by . To prepare for his role, Salman Khan went on a special diet and worked out with a personal trainer. For her role as a 19th-century princess, gained eight kilograms. Principal photography for began on 1 December 2008. Portions of the film were originally scheduled to be shot at the and the Agricultural College in , but due to the , the locations were shifted to Mumbai. Filming also took place in Jaipur and . Location shooting at in was also interrupted when several onlookers were injured and the 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. 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 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 Galani, alleging that the film borrowed elements from his novel, . The suit called for a halt of the film’s screenings. The trailer of was released on 27 November 2009 at the screening of ‘s . ASTPL, an Indian software developer, also released a based on the film. The movie was generally panned by critics. criticized the writing and direction of the movie, describing it as a colossal disappointment. of 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, of 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 than . According to Eros, 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). The youth organisation was heavily critical of , 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. The film’s music was released on 14 December 2009. The film’s songs are composed by , the film scores are composed by and the lyrics are written by lyricist . Music critic Joginder Tuteja of gave it an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5. The songs, , and received special praise.</p>