DVD Reviews : Veer

OVIE DETAILS

Cast: Salman Khan, Zarine Khan, Sohail Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff
Director: Anil Sharma
Producer: Vijay Galani
Music: Sajid-Wajid
Lyrics: Gulzar

THE FILM

Veer is an unbearable experience. Imagine a near three hour long film which has numerous twists and turns but still fails to engage you? Veer is one such film where so much happens in the film's narrative and still none too exciting enough that would make you sit on the edge of the couch while watching this one. Now that's a pity because even with Salman Khan as the central protagonist, ton loads of money at disposal, a film maker who is behind one of the most watched films of all times (Gadar) and a loyal fan following, Veer doesn't cut any ice.

Reasons are aplenty. first and foremost being that the film's story telling certainly seems to be truly compromised. You can make out, considering the patchy narrative of the film, that there has been more than one decision maker involved in the film. There are times when you just don't comprehend what is happening on the screen as loopholes in the story are as big as the size of a crater, the biggest one being the neat exit that Salman Khan manages to make from England after killing dozens of men in the firang land!

Chalo maan liya that it was cinematic liberty but the fact is that even at the core of the story, the element of conflict is never clear. Is Salman's fight against Jackie Shroff, the man who was responsible for the massacre that had happened years back in the pre-independence year? Is he against the Brits who were ruling the country? Or is he doing it all for love?

Also, his confrontation with his father (Mithun Chakravorty) towards the finale doesn't quite seem justified. If the intent was to make a full on father-son drama alive on screen then that fails to happen. All it does it make you give out that unintentional laugh. On the contrary the intended attempt from Sohail Khan when it comes to invoking laughter doesn't quite produced the desired results. He brings his own sense of humour in the performance, something that he managed successfully from Salman Khan in Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kiya a decade back. However, that totally fails in Veer as all his character manages to do in Veer is irritate the audience.

As for the love story between Salman and debutant Zarine then well it does have its moments. But then again logic has to be kept aside as their chance meeting in London is akin to taking cinematic liberty way too far. Their encounters later on aren't sizzling either as the drama fails to pick up despite Zarine's character rising up to being the decision maker from being a damsel in distress. The music though does try to pep the proceedings but the standalone effort through all the songs is not good enough. Also a couple of other women characters are introduced into the narrative but that only end up giving confusing signals rather than elevating the drama.

Wait, there is more. After the initial set up that boasted of some wonderful action sequence (never mind the special effects that are actually behind the creation of much hyped '5000 horses in a single frame' hype), the sequences thereafter are hardly enticing. There is a Gladiator like sequence later which only reminds one of the similar situations that has been seen in Dharmendra's Dharamveer. The climax has a huge canvas but the fight between Mithun and Salman doesn't quite cut any ice, hence resulting in zero impact being made in the final run. Also, re-introduction of Salman Khan, this time as the son of Veer towards the dying moments of the film clearly indicates that the makers had totally run out of ideas once it was time to set end credits rolling.

PACKAGING

Veer comes in a classy packaging, something which goes with the film's genre. Unfortunately, the packaging by itself is hardly a good enough reason to pick this DVD from the shelves.

DURATION

The film's duration is 159 minutes.

SPECIAL FEATURES

- Making of the Film
- Making of the songs (Taali, Surili Ankhiyon Wale, Meherbaaniyan, Salaam Aaya)
- Making of action sequences
- Deleted scenes
- Audio described Hindi

In a film like Veer, you do wish to check out the deleted scenes. There are quite a few here as well and honestly, Mithun's scene at the beginning of the film where he interacts with people from media is quite impressive. He takes audience through flashback and states the reason behind the entire battle which makes for an intriguing viewing. What is hardly intriguing though are some of the scene featuring Sohail. They were best left on the editing table. There is a romantic scene between Zarine and Salman which looks good in isolation. However, in the context of the film, it would have only slowed down the pace.

'Making' is good, especially the portions around the action sequences, since it details the mammoth effort that went behind filming an expensive and difficult film like Veer. However, good effort can't quite lead to a good film and this is what one ends up exclaiming even as director Anil Sharma, Salman Khan and action director Tinu Verma talk about what went into Veer.

There is an effort from the makers to add audio described Hindi for the entire length of the film. This means that for those who are visually challenged, there is a voiceover that explains the moving images on screen for those moments where there are no dialogues. Though the intent is noble, it doesn't quite work for a film like Veer which basically relies on action that is best experienced when seen. However, this is indeed a step in the right direction and could pioneer a new way of home entertainment for those who only depend upon their ears to experience a film.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Languages: Hindi and Telugu
- Subtitles - English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo

PRICE

Rs. 299/=

CONCLUSION

Veer is truly a forgettable outing and a waste of precious resources. After watching the film, one can sense that the basic story line of Veer would indeed have been good and a better script could have made for an engrossing outing. However, this is not the case to be and even though Salman Khan gives a good account of himself as an actor, that is not good enough for the film to make any impact whatsoever.