Veer Movie Review

Salman Khan in a period film?!! I won't deny I was a bit apprehensive about how Veer would turn up to be. Yes, from the look and feel it did look like a period film, but fifteen minutes into the film, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying the plot as we saw cannons roar, swords clash and men on galloping horses slaying one another on the battlefield.

Set in the times when the British were colonising India, Veer is a tale of bravery, treachery and love rolled into one. As the British enslave India with their shrewd 'Divide and Rule' policy, kings and nawabs fall to their guile and entrust their kingdom to them, one of them being Jackie Shroff, the Raja of Madhavgarh. He cheats the Pindaris, a fighter tribe from Rajputana, to please the British and loses his right hand to Prithvi Singh (Mithun Chakraborty).

Prithvi, one of the proud heads of the Pindaris, swears to return and kill every white man and the Raja to avenge the deception that cost his tribe, their land and their reputation. The vile Raja of Madhavpur too harbours a similar intention behind his cool demeanour. But as fate would have it, little did he realise that one day his daughter Jashodhara (Zarine Khan) would fall in love with the bravest of them all,Veer.

Now Veer not only takes on the British rulers, he also has to fight the cunning Raja of Madhavgarh. But then he has fallen head-over-heels in love Jasho and has killed her brother (Puru Raj Kumar) too. Will he succeed or won't he is for you to figure out.

Salman seemed to be back in form. He has lost more weight this time and looked better than in Wanted. It felt good to see him dancing gracefully and emoting right at the same time, maybe because Salman himself has invested a lot in terms of story as well.

The discussion would be incomplete if we don't talk about his action sequences and his dialogues. As in Wanted, here too he has a few punch lines kept aside for his fans. Sample this: Ek bar leta hoon toh paanch ser gosht le ke hi chhodta hoon. If this was not all he goes on to prove it by actually killing a rebel Pindari with his bare hands by scooping out his flesh. And guess what he comes up with? 'Tol lena, paanch ser se zyada hi hoga." Woof!!

Salman even tries to do a Phool Aur Kaante stunt a la Ajay Devgan but of course on horses instead of two bikes. It wouldn't be wrong to say it's Salman's film all the way but one person who actually stole the thunder with his fantastic support was Mithun Chakraborty. Expectations grew and sparks flew every time Mithun appeared on screen. Watching him was sheer delight. Also the chemistry the two of them portray as father and son is commendable.

But then one can't turn a blind eye to the flaws in the film, right?

We wonder what exactly were the two of them - Puru Raj Kumar and Aryan Vaid doing in the film.

Sadly, Sohail Khan as Punya was no different than in any of his other films. He just tries to be funny. Loyal to the core, he plays Veer's younger brother who follows him around like a shadow and he loves to flirt, that is when he is not fighting enemies. The scene where he romances a firang girl on the branch of a tree is hilarious.

As for the female counterparts, Neena Gupta as Mithun's wife looked the part. But the heroine, Zarine Khan (allegedly a Katrina lookalike) is far from resembling Kat with her chubby features. No doubt she has a pretty face but wears the same expression throughoutthe film (boring!). She urgently needs to shed those extra pounds to bag another film.

Anil Sharma's contribution as a director was probably till the time he brought the actors together. Though there was no dearth of grandeur, the cinematography is decent - especially the scenes shot in the palaces and forts - the special effects look tacky.

Sharma has paid no attention to maintain the continuity in Salman's hairstyle, which keeps changing every now and then. One may argue it was required for the different getups he seeks to befool his enemies, but then the locks can't grow back so fast. Can they?

But who cares as long as we have Salman Khan on the screen. The film runs on a more-or-less constant pace. The action scenes certainly make you watch it till the end.

VERDICT: The film may get a good opening at single screens because of Salman's popularity. I would go with 2/5 for the film and 1 for Sallu-Mithun chemistry.

RATING: 3/5
Courtesy By Jaya Biswas from Buzz18