Everyone's waiting for news of the next directorial work of Yash Chopra, so while we throw ourselves on each of the latest pictures from the set, why not enjoy the latest work of this Indian trendsetter?Admittedly, it's been a long time - 8 years, to be exactly. Veer-Zaara, released in 2004, was part of the first Bollywood wave in Germany and has therefore become a true cult film and must-watch among these parts. Most people have seen Dil To Pagal Hai (Yash Chopra's last directorial work before this one), but when they think of Yash Chopra, they think of the tragic love story of Veer and Zaara. This is also why we often forget that Yash Chopra is most of all a forward-looking and trendsetting director (and producer, of course), and that the historically set Veer-Zaara was actually an exception.
Nevermind though, because Veer-Zaara deserves all the love and obsession people have developed towards it, at least from what I remember. And with this I already admit that this is the first film I highlight in this feature that I haven't seen recently. But I am planning on watching it as soon as possible, and putting together this post has made me want to even more. I often listen to the exceptional soundtrack of this film, which was based on songs by the (already then) late music genius Madan Mohan, but the second thing I think of when I hear Veer-Zaara, is the gorgeous costumes designed by Indian fashion guru Manish Malhotra and Mandira Shukla.I remember watching this film frequently when I was younger, and how I wished I'd be able to wear clothes like that one time...
This is the scene in which Veer and Zaara meet for the first time, and I am fascinated by the fact that Zaara's beautiful salwar kameez didn't get dirty during the accident she had. It still looks wonderfully white and punjabi.
I love the song "Aisa Des Hai Mera", in which Veer shows Zaara his Indian home, and she realizes that it isn't very different from her Pakistani one. While Veer looks very country-ish with his all-over jeans look (he can pull it off), Zaara is dashing in a yellow-white salwar kameez. You know, I just love Indian clothes, if I get to India I'm definitely going to wear some.
As there are many muslims in the film, there are a lot of headdresses too. I know this sounds weird, but I often feel very comfortable wearing a headdress like that. I just don't do it very often, because people stare at me like "Oh my God, are you Taliban?". I think it looks very neat.
I used to want Zaara's lori (Indian festival) outfit so badly, just loved the colours. Today I'm a bit more skeptical concerning the combination of orange and pink, but it does look very happy. And of course Amitabh is the fashion queen of the film with his red hair band.
Sadly, I didn't find any better pictures, but Zaara's black salwar is amazing. Veer is looking normal, like always.
And this is my favorite outfit of the whole film. I know, I always go for the understated, don't I? No, honestly, Zaara's engagement (!) dress is... indescribable. The combination of colours is perfect, and although there's lots of gold and jewellery, I don't find it too much somehow. Plus, the shawl can be used as a dress too - isn't that amazing? (For those who haven't seen the film: I'm not going to tell you whom Zaara is marrying).
Aside from the fact that I'm crazy about the song "Aaya Tere Dar Par" (classical muslim-inspired music is just to die for), I also very much like these two outfits. Shah Rukh looks better than at any other time in the film (must be the headdress), and Zaara's simple red salwar is so beautiful. These are my second favorite outfits of the film.
Last but not least, I selected three saris from the dream sequence song "Yeh Hum Aa Gaye Hain Kahaan", because I really like the colours and the classical kitschyness of this. The song itself is great too - you should really check out the soundtrack, if you haven't already.
What is your most fabulously fashionable Yash Chopra film?
