Veer-Zaara

-

 VEER-ZAARA [2004]


Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji, Kirron Kher


Direction by Yash Chopra & Screenplay by Aditya Chopra


Language: Hindi


In Bollywood, this is one of the movies that everyone just knows. With a star-studded cast and its controversial messages about love across the borders of India and Pakistan, it was truly ahead of its time in terms of confronting social norms. However, this is a view shared only by the old: people my age hate it for its lack of modernised choreography and its slower pace. In spite of this, I must say that I absolutely ADORED this movie. 


The story and the message that the movie put forward was so different to anything else previously seen in Bollywood. The evolution of love between the two main characters was much slower, and therefore much more easier to understand: most Hindi movies follow the typical ‘love at first sight’ motif which is nothing short of overused. 


I am not the biggest fan of Shah Rukh Khan: he often plays incredibly one dimensional characters. However, this movie showcased that he is an incredibly versatile actor: a trait which has not been utilised by Bollywood writers until this film. 

Unfortunately, the majority of Bollywood movies write female characters as being damsels in distress: incapable of making their own decisions and completely reliant on men to change their lives. Whilst this writing stereotype was true for Preity Zinta’s character, she managed to execute it pretty well. However, Rani Mukerji’s role completely defied the stereotype. She played the role of a lawyer, determined to topple the patriarchy in her field. I thought that she played her character very well, which is not a surprise: Mukerji is incredibly well suited for, and has a lot of experience playing outspoken, empowered female characters. There was a strong feminist feeling to her role, which is a component that has been so lacking in Bollywood.


You’ll hear me going on about the music whenever I review a Bollywood film like a broken record. However, for this movie, this point is especially relevant! The music was not completely cheap-sounding like other Bollywood movies at the time, and the soundtrack is one of my favourites! It is also one of the only Bollywood movies I have seen which 


Although the movie sort of drags at the end, the movie is completely worth watching. Definitely recommend! 9/10. 

Popular posts from this blog

Moonlight

-
Image
  MOONLIGHT [2016] Starring: Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monae, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, Naomie Harris Direction by Barry Jenkins Language: English In 2016, I turned 11. I had watched La La Land in the cinema, but was too young to watch Moonlight. I loved musicals even then, and so I thought I was supposed to love the movie. So I resented Moonlight when they were the ones that ended up winning the Oscar on that fateful day in 2017. The movie has always been in the back of my mind: I've been wondering about it of late, and it was only until it came up on my Netflix recommended list that I decided to watch it.  Side note: I didn't realise that A24 was involved in the production and distribution of so many critically acclaimed films! Moonlight, Lady Bird, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Whale, Aftersun. The list goes on and on. A24 is my kind of production house, that's for certain.  What can I say about Moonlight? It was alright, I guess? I don't know. I watche...
Read more

Days of Being Wild

-
Image
  Days of Being Wild [1990] Starring: Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Carina Lau Direction by Wong Kar-wai Language: Cantonese, Mandarin I was very lucky to find that in my city, a local independent cinema was having a Wong Kar-wai retrospective, where they were showing Wong Kar-wai's most influential movies in a bid to increase tourism to Hong Kong. I had originally wanted to watch 'In the Mood For Love' on the big screen, yet it sold out almost instantly. In response, I watched this instead, and I am so glad that I did.  If the movie does anything well, it is character development that excels. Although the movie was quite short, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of symbolism Kar-wai was able to pack into it. All of the characters felt very fleshed out, but not the the point where their storylines became repetitive, as is the case with may Western movies. Kar-wai's craft, in my opinion, is giving the audiences small hints throughout his movies, meaning t...
Read more

Bunty Aur Babli

-
Image
  Bunty Aur Babli [2005] Starring: Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan Direction by Shaad Ali Language: Hindi After reviewing a few movies, I have realised that I only watch Bollywood movies if I have listened to the songs beforehand and have enjoyed them! In this case, members of my family have singing Kajra Re  since I was born! In other reviews, I have mentioned how I tend not to enjoy crime/action films. However, a crime film put together with some incredibly extravagant choreography, a budding romance and you've got me hooked. Finally, I have seen a movie that isn't just a soppy romance in its entirety! What is interesting about this movie is the shift in narrative: the writers of Bollywood films, to this day, have an obsession with the western world. You'll be hard pressed to find a movie that doesn't take you to the streets of New York or London for a dance number. Most movies often centre around the movement of NRIs (non resident Indians) to and fr...
Read more