Get comfortable because this film from India’s ‘Bollywood,’ is serious about entertainment. At over three hours long, the movie takes viewers far away from their everyday lives and deep into the story. It’s a mixture of song and dance, native and foreign dialects, people, culture, palaces, and attitude. Winning several top awards and earning the number one film spot of the year for India in 2004, it definitely commands attention. The term Bollywood is a mesh of Hollywood and Bombay, India’s largest city that is now know as Mumbai. The majority of the regions films come from this location.
This film takes place throughout several areas around India beginning in the Punjabi countryside. The area is lush and mountainous and the main characters, Veer and Zaara, are shown singing love songs to each other and dancing in the meadows. Zaara is from Pakistan soon to be unwillingly wed in an arranged marriage Veer is an Air Force pilot from India. The love story that unfolds, deals with political issues, cultural differences, and religious beliefs. Throughout the story, there seems to be a common underlying theme of unity that is spelled out in songs and script to the audience.
When India and Pakistan won their independence from Britain in 1947 there were problems, mainly religious, that caused millions of Muslims living in India to move to Pakistan, and Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan to move to India. This was the reason for Zaara having to travel to her grand-mother’s homeland in India to bury her ashes. Once there Veer didn’t think there would be a chance that a Guru would help due to her non-Hindu religion. When the Guru learned of Zaara’s efforts he had no problem performing the last rights for her grandmother.
The song that Veer sang on the way to his home titled, “My Land,” described it as being the same as Zaara’s. The song is very similar to the American youth song, “This Land Is My Land.” Later, after winning his trial, Veer sings about how he looks just like everyone there (Pakistan) and that the country is much like his own. Earlier, when the couple arrived at Veers village, Zaara was dressed in the local Punjabi attire and attended a Lodi Festival where men pronounce their love for a woman. She is accepted very easily by the people in Veer’s village.
Women’s rights were also dealt with. Zaara brings up the topic of female education at Veer’s village, and they decide to build a school for the girls. In Pakistan at the prison, a female lawyer was a new concept for everyone as well as in the courtroom.
Although a lot of exaggeration may have been used to depict this area and the people that live there, the bottom line was accurate; there is a feeling of separation that is felt throughout India and Pakistan. People there are divided by religion, area, history, and education. By using a love story as a medium, writer Aditya Chopra, created a sense of unity in the region with several different things that an audience member could relate to.
This film takes place throughout several areas around India beginning in the Punjabi countryside. The area is lush and mountainous and the main characters, Veer and Zaara, are shown singing love songs to each other and dancing in the meadows. Zaara is from Pakistan soon to be unwillingly wed in an arranged marriage Veer is an Air Force pilot from India. The love story that unfolds, deals with political issues, cultural differences, and religious beliefs. Throughout the story, there seems to be a common underlying theme of unity that is spelled out in songs and script to the audience.
When India and Pakistan won their independence from Britain in 1947 there were problems, mainly religious, that caused millions of Muslims living in India to move to Pakistan, and Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan to move to India. This was the reason for Zaara having to travel to her grand-mother’s homeland in India to bury her ashes. Once there Veer didn’t think there would be a chance that a Guru would help due to her non-Hindu religion. When the Guru learned of Zaara’s efforts he had no problem performing the last rights for her grandmother.
The song that Veer sang on the way to his home titled, “My Land,” described it as being the same as Zaara’s. The song is very similar to the American youth song, “This Land Is My Land.” Later, after winning his trial, Veer sings about how he looks just like everyone there (Pakistan) and that the country is much like his own. Earlier, when the couple arrived at Veers village, Zaara was dressed in the local Punjabi attire and attended a Lodi Festival where men pronounce their love for a woman. She is accepted very easily by the people in Veer’s village.
Women’s rights were also dealt with. Zaara brings up the topic of female education at Veer’s village, and they decide to build a school for the girls. In Pakistan at the prison, a female lawyer was a new concept for everyone as well as in the courtroom.
Although a lot of exaggeration may have been used to depict this area and the people that live there, the bottom line was accurate; there is a feeling of separation that is felt throughout India and Pakistan. People there are divided by religion, area, history, and education. By using a love story as a medium, writer Aditya Chopra, created a sense of unity in the region with several different things that an audience member could relate to.
This type of movie is one that generally goes down in the history books. Similar to ‘Casablanca’ in many ways, it transcends barriers to create a small bond between people that are more or less divided. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Muslim, Hindu, Christian, or Inuit; there is a good chance that you can relate to this film in some way.
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