Divya Dutta’s latest interview recalls Shah Rukh Khan guiding her on the Veer-Zaara set, putting Yash Chopra’s 2004 romance back in the conversation. The film remains a favourite, but its making holds details even regular viewers miss. Here are eight things you did not know.
A real Pakistani jail for Veer’s prison
All scenes featuring Shah Rukh Khan in a prison were shot in a single day, at a jail in Pakistan. The court scenes were shot in a Pakistani law court. Most of the filming was done in secrecy, with no official announcements.
Preity Zinta’s six-hour harness shot
While filming an action sequence with Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta was hanging from a harness for nearly six hours in a near-fatal experience. She called it one of the most humbling experiences of her life, saying it made her realise the difficulties male actors face.
The title that almost was
Yeh Kahaan Aa Gaye Hum, a song title from Yash Chopra’s Silsila (1981), was one of the contenders before Veer-Zaara was ultimately chosen. Sanjeev Kohli, CEO of Yash Raj Films, said the title was selected after much deliberation. The title was initially hinted to mislead audiences.
Madan Mohan’s untouched music
The soundtrack features 11 songs with music based on old and untouched compositions by the late Madan Mohan, as revised by his son Sanjeev Kohli. The lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar. It was the highest-selling music album of the year in India, with sales of around 3 million units.
Yash Chopra’s rare retake meltdown
Rani Mukerji said Yash Chopra usually avoided retakes as they would make actors mechanical. But for a sequence where Shah Rukh Khan’s character calls her character ‘daughter’, over 10 retakes were taken. Khan said an infuriated Chopra announced a pack-up.
Zaara’s mansion was Saif Ali Khan’s palace
Saif Ali Khan’s palace in Pataudi served as Zaara’s mansion in the film. Parts of the film were shot in various locations in Mumbai, and a shoot was carried out in Punjab during a particular season before indoor shooting was completed.
The shoot finished in 72 days
Initially planned over a period of 102 days, the film’s shoot was completed in 72 days. The film’s reel length was 17757.61 feet, or 5412.52 metres. Veer-Zaara was filmed entirely in sync sound.
It was 2004’s biggest Indian film
At the end of its theatrical run, Veer-Zaara collected ₹580 million in India, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. It earned ₹357 million internationally. Worldwide, it grossed ₹976.4 million, becoming the highest grossing Indian film of the year.
Which of these eight Veer-Zaara details is the one you will save for your next movie night?
Facts from Wikipedia: Veer-Zaara, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.