Veer-Zara a Film of a Love Story Faced With Religious and Political Barriers
Veer Zaara is a story about the love that develops between an Indian man, Veer Pratap Singh, and a Pakistani woman, Zaara Hayaat Khan. The two destined-to-be lovers meet in India when Zaara comes there to submerge the ashes of her surrogate grandmother, a Sikh by birth and faith. Faced with religious and political barriers that have historically separated their two countries, both Veer and Zaara initially try and resist their mutual attraction. To complicate matters, Zaara's family has already pledged her in a matrimonial alliance, designed to achieve the union of two political parties in Pakistan. Ultimately, however, the power of love proves to be stronger than any commitment to family, religion, or nation. Zaara is unable to forget Veer's declaration of love even as she valiantly struggles to honor her parents' wishes. On seeing Zaara's misery, her close confidante, Shabbo, calls up Veer in India and tells him to come and fetch Zaara. When Veer arrives in Pakistan, Zaara's feelings spill over, leading to her publicly expressing her love for Veer. Unable to bear the prospect of his daughter's broken engagement, and the subsequent loss of social and political prestige, Zaara's father falls seriously ill. Zaara's to-be father
But, Veer and Zaara's love story does not end there. For, Zaara's vengeful fiancee arranges to have Veer arrested on the false charge of being an Indian intelligence officer. He then threatens Veer that he will make Zaara's married life a living hell unless he agrees to confess to the crime that he has been accused of. In the interests of his love's welfare, Veer agrees and spends the next 22 years languishing in a Pakistan jail. Finally, the zealous efforts of a young Pakistani woman lawyer, Saamiya Siddiqui, succeeds in correcting the grave injustice done to Veer, and in uniting the two lovers. If Veer Zaara depicts the importance of human values and rights through the characters of Saamiya and her father in Pakistan, it carries the same message across the border through its portrayal of Veer's adoptive parents - Chaudhary Sumer Singh and Saraswati (Mati). A Punjabi married to a Madrasi, the couple are shown as totally dedicated to making their small village progress. They achieve this through establishing educational and health care facilities. In addition, they work towards ensuring that religious and cultural taboos do not come in the way of young people's emotional aspirations. Therefore, they institute a unique ceremony during the traditional "loni" celebrations that allows young men and women to express their love for another. Thus, it is hardly surprising that Veer's adoptive parents encourage him to declare his love for Zaara, in spite of her being a Pakistani and a Muslim. Ostensibly, Veer Zaara may appear to be a love story on the lines of other legendary love classics such as Romeo and Juliet. However, a closer examination of the film will reveal that Yash Chopra, the director, has merely used Veer and Zaara's love story as a vehicle to communicate a much more meaningful and
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Approximate Word count = 1223
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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