Veer-Zaara is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed and produced by Yash Chopra, and written and produced by his son Aditya Chopra. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta as the titular star-crossed lovers, namely, Veer Pratap Singh, an Indian Air Force officer, and Zaara Hayaat Khan, who is the daughter of a Pakistani politician. Veer is imprisoned on false charges, and 22 years later, a young Pakistani lawyer, named Saamiya Siddiqui (Rani Mukerji), fights his case. Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Divya Dutta, Manoj Bajpayee, Boman Irani, Anupam Kher and Kirron Kher play supporting roles.
Chopra wanted to make his return to cinema after seven years, dissatisfied with the scripts he received. Aditya then narrated a few scenes of a story he had written, which interested Chopra and prompted him to direct it. Chopra intended the film to be a tribute to Punjab; it was to be titled Yeh Kahaan Aa Gaye Hum, based on an eponymous song from the soundtrack of his 1981 film Silsila. Set in India and Pakistan, principal photography took place in Indian Punjab and in Mumbai; parts of the film were also shot in Pakistan. The soundtrack album, based on old compositions by Madan Mohan with lyrics by Javed Akhtar, was the highest-selling album of the year in India. R.S. Mani composed the background score.
Veer-Zaara was released on 12 November 2004 during Diwali. The film earned over ₹97 crore worldwide in its first run, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of the year. It received universal acclaim, especially for its story, dialogues, soundtrack, performances and sensitive portrayal of India-Pakistan relations. It was described by analysts as having themes pertaining to a shared Punjabi culture, secularism and feminism, among others. Veer-Zaara is ranked among the greatest romantic films of Indian cinema. The film faced competition with the Akshay Kumar-starrer Aitraaz (2004), which also became a box-office success.
At the 52nd National Film Awards, Veer-Zaara won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. At the 50th Filmfare Awards, the film received a leading 15 nominations, and won 4 awards, including Best Film and Best Story (Aditya). At the 6th IIFA Awards, it won a leading 7 awards of its 11 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Chopra), Best Actor (Khan), Best Supporting Actress (Mukerji) and Best Music Director (Mohan).
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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