Highlights
Legendary Yash Chopra-directed romantic saga Veer-Zaara has turned out to be a ₹100 crore grosser at worldwide box offices with a re-release. Featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji, this film was much appreciated for its presentation of a love story between an Indian soldier and a Pakistani woman. The film has continued to impress audiences worldwide since its re-release and further helped keep Yash Chopra’s legacy alive in Bollywood. Veer-Zaara has, so far, achieved this after 20 years from its first release as it maintained consistent performance over the past days at the box office.
Box Office Performance Upon Re-release
Veer-Zaara was released into theaters again in September 2024, it maintained a consistent performance due to nostalgic fans and new viewers. The film made ₹1.57 crore over the weekend of its re-release, with earnings spread out across the entire week. Friday was ₹20 lakh, Saturday was ₹32 lakh, Sunday ₹38 lakh, and smaller figures on the weekdays, taking the total to ₹1.80 crore.
Veer-Zaara was a box office success during the initial release in 2004 with ₹61 crores earned within India and ₹37 crores abroad amounting to ₹98 crore aggregate. The film generated ₹2.50 crores over the years through small-time releases and television syndication. With the current re-release, Veer-Zaara has technically crossed the ₹100 crore mark and now stands at ₹102.60 crores.
Nostalgia and the Power of Re-releases
The repeat success of Veer-Zaara in its re-release can be proof that old cinema truly lives in the hearts of many. Directed by one of Bollywood’s greatest filmmakers, Yash Chopra, the movie has been loved for rich narrative, heartfelt performances, and soulful music that it had been complimented with-in the late Madan Mohan. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Rani Mukerji, the film told a haunting love story of an Indian Air Force officer and a Pakistani woman with borders and political tensions pitted between them.
The Timeless Appeal of Veer-Zaara Story
Veer-Zaara is essentially a love story across the border between Veer Pratap Singh, an Indian soldier, portrayed by Shah Rukh Khan, and Zaara Hayat Khan, a Pakistani woman, portrayed by Preity Zinta. This serves as the basis for its entry into the intricate web of emotions surrounding love across borders, political strife, and familial expectations. Veer Pratap Singh was arrested on false charges of espionage, which separated him from Zaara for a long time. A Pakistani lawyer, played by Rani Mukerji, Saamiya Siddiqui, also plays an important role in the film because she fights for Veer’s release, and through that process, the lovers see each other after many years of separation and longing.
A film like Veer-Zaara is not common as it speaks to a very emotionally and humanly poignant story so that it lifts beyond the political division of India and Pakistan. The film was about romance but also unity, compassion, and understanding culture; in this way, it was a favorite amongst both sides of the border audiences. This is one reason why, two decades later, its message remains timeless.
