Veer is Weak
by: Amit R Agarwal
The only reason Anil Sharma’s Veer will find a mention in Bollywood history is because the director gives an entirely new meaning to the hindi term ‘VEER’ – ironically, weak; for that is what his film is – a weak film that audiences, if they survive boredom are ‘brave’ to sit through!
Period-dramas have an element of grandeur to them; surprisingly Anil Sharma’s Veer fails on this count too – the production-design is atrocious.
This reminds the reviewer of classic period-dramas and one that immediately comes to mind is Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. Agreed, Anil Sharma is no Ridley Scott and Salman Khan is no Russel Crowe; but closer home they could have taken a tip or two from Ashutosh Gowariker’s mammoth mount Jodha Akbar!
Veer tells the story of a warrior-tribe Pindhari who are wronged by the king of Madhavgarh (Jackie Shroff). The protagonist (from Pandhaari tribe) Mithun Chakravorty wows to take revenge. He is blessed with a son, whom he rechristens Veer.
How Veer takes revenge – in between falling in love with Zarine Khan (by now Bollywood audiences are intelligent enough to know she is the daughter of the scheming king) – forms the narrative of the story.
The point is how can a love story work without the lead actors having any sort of chemistry?
The film is so exhaustive for the audience that during the climax when Salman and Mithun engage in a combat – a nitwit from the audience cracked, “kill each other and end the torture!”
There is no redeeming factor in the film – be it writing, cinematography, action or music – everything falls flat.
Anil Sharma fails to create any Gadar here. Salman Khan is just about average as Veer. Zarine Khan is fat and the flab shows in oodles onscreen. Mithun Chakravorty is competent. Jackie Shroff hams a lot and has acted terribly. Sohail Khan tries to be Rajpal Yadav in the film and brings a chuckle or two. Puru Raaj Kumar and Aryan Vaid hardly have any roles to speak about. Liza Lazarus is used as a glorified extra.
In the end, this Veer is weak.
What rocks the movie:
A stray scene here and there
What chucks the movie:
Writing
Performances – Zarine Khan is no actress and it shows onscreen
Editing and all other technical aspects
VERDICT:
Do yourself a favor, the flavor this Friday is a repeat screening of 3 Idiots or Paa or better still Avatar in 3D.