Veer
drives
home
a
few
hard
facts...
*
No
amount
of
gloss
can
substitute
for
an
engaging
story.
*
Not
all
directors
are
capable
of
pulling
off
a
period
film.
*
No
star
-
howsoever
strong
his
rankings
are
-
can
infuse
life
in
a
comatose
script.
Everyone's
awaiting
Veer
with
bated
breath.
The
film
industry
will
get
another
breather
if
Veer
goes
the
3
Idiots
way
the
box-office.
The
junta
will
have
one
more
fascinating
genre
to
look
forward
to,
if
Veer
appeals
to
them.
But
your
hopes
go
crashing
as
reel
after
reel
of
Veer
unfurl.
Salman
Khan
[who
has
been
credited
as
the
story
writer
of
Veer]
takes
Taras
Bulba,
adds
Gladiator,
Conan
The
Barbarian,
Troy,
Titanic
and
even
Kranti
[the
end
is
a
straight
lift
of
Manoj
Kumar's
Dilip
Kumar
starrer]
and
comes
up
with
this
khichdi
which
gets
unpalatable
after
a
point.
Veer
is
about
a
warrior
and
at
the
same
time,
it's
a
love
story
too.
Sadly,
neither
does
it
evoke
any
patriotism,
nor
does
the
love
story
make
your
heart
go
dhak-dhak.
The
writing
[screenplay:
Shaktimaan
Talwar,
Shailesh
Verma]
is
so
fragile
that
one
is
mentally
exhausted
by
the
time
this
marathon
movie
finally
reaches
its
finale.
Of
course,
Salman's
star
power
tries
hard
to
salvage
the
situation,
but
window
dressing
doesn't
help
if
the
store
has
nothing
to
offer.
Final
word?
You
have
to
be
a
Veer
to
sit
through
Veer.
Colossal
disappointment!
As
the
British
enslave
India
with
their
devious
Divide
and
Rule
policy,
kings
and
nawabs
fall
to
their
guile
and
cunning
schemes
and
entrust
their
precious
kingdom
to
the
foreigners.
Except
for
the
brave
Pindaris,
who
prefer
death
to
dishonour
and
will
fight
to
their
last
breath
to
save
their
land.
The
bravest,
the
toughest,
the
strongest
of
the
Pindaris
is
Veer
[Salman
Khan].
As
Veer
takes
on
the
might
of
the
British
Empire,
he
also
has
to
fight
the
conniving
King
of
Madavgarh
[Jackie
Shroff]
as
well
his
own
jealous
tribesmen.
At
stake
is
his
love
for
princess
Yashodhara
[Zarine
Khan],
daughter
of
his
sworn
enemy.
At
stake
is
his
thirst
to
avenge
his
father's
dishonour.
Veer
has
it
all
-
great
stars,
opulent
and
majestic
sets,
adrenaline
pumping
action
scenes,
but
no
soul
[read
script].
The
movie
begins
with
a
bang,
but
the
moment
the
story
shifts
to
London,
it
crashes!
Frankly,
it's
a
screenplay
of
convenience.
Salman
meets
the
woman
of
his
dreams
within
minutes
of
reaching
London
and
that
looks
so
unreal.
You
try
to
digest
it
and
move
on
to
the
next
scene
and
lo!
The
damsel
studies
in
the
same
college
that
our
hero
has
enrolled
in.
Now
that
looks
fake!
The
sequence
at
the
interval
is
interesting,
although
it
remains
a
mystery
how
Puru
Raaj
Kumar
gets
to
know
of
Salman's
identity.
At
this
point,
Salman
becomes
a
killing
machine,
slaughters
more
than
a
dozen
people
in
the
hostel
campus
[including
a
few
gora
soldiers]
and
conveniently
escapes
from
London
with
a
badly
injured
brother
[played
by
Sohail].
Now
that
is
taking
it
too
far.
The
second
hour
goes
on
and
on
and
on,
emphasising
on
unfulfilled
promises,
seething
anger
and
revenge,
love
and
freedom
and
frankly,
you
are
least
bothered
by
now.
In
fact,
you
lose
interest
in
the
proceedings.
Period.
The
climax
is
so
long
drawn
and
more
of
an
anti-climax,
while
the
ending
is
bizarre
and
unintentionally
funny.
Director
Anil
Sharma
fails
to
deliver.
That's
the
bitter
truth.
The
project
had
everything
going
in
its
favour,
but
alas,
Sharma
and
his
writers
make
a
complete
mess
of
the
story.
Sajid-Wajid's
music
is
melodious,
but
why
repeat
one
song
['Surili
Ankhiyon
Wali']
again
and
again?
The
background
score
[Monty]
is
top
notch.
Gopal
Shah's
cinematography
is
splendid.
Tinu
Verma's
action
scenes
are
dynamic
and
in
fact,
the
saving
grace
of
Veer.
The
production
design
[art:
Sanjay
Dhabade]
give
an
authentic
feel
of
the
bygone
era.
Veer
rides
on
Salman's
star
power,
but
even
his
hardcore
fans
will
be
disappointed
by
this
movie.
Zarine
Khan
resembles
Katrina
Kaif,
but
wears
one
expression
all
through.
Mithun
is
okay,
while
Jackie
does
his
bit
well.
Sohail
Khan
irritates.
Puru
Raaj
Kumar
and
Aryan
Vaid
get
no
scope.
Neena
Gupta
is
as
usual.
The
English
actors
are
stereotype.
On
the
whole,
Veer
proves
the
age-old
adage
true:
All
that
glitters
is
not
gold.
The
film
may
open
very
well
at
single
screens
thanks
to
Salman's
popularity
and
the
hype
surrounding
the
film
and
may
also
enjoy
a
healthy
extended
weekend
[Tuesday,
26th
January
is
a
holiday],
but
given
its
exorbitant
costs
and
poor
merits,
Veer
will
face
an
uphill
task
to
recover
its
costs.
This
one's
a
monumental
disappointment!