Veer-Zara Veer Zaara is a story about the love that develops between an Indian man, Veer Pratap Singh, and a Pakistani woman, Zaara Hayaat Khan. The two destined-to-be lovers meet in India when Zaara comes there to submerge the ashes of her surrogate grandmother, a Sikh by birth and faith. Faced with religious and political barriers that have historically separated their two countries, both Veer and Zaara initially try and resist their mutual attraction. To complicate matters, Zaara's family has already pledged her in a matrimonial alliance, designed to achieve the union of two political parties in Pakistan. Ultimately, however, the power of love proves to be stronger than any commitment to family, religion, or nation. Zaara is unable to forget Veer's declaration of love even as she valiantly struggles to honor her parents' wishes. On seeing Zaara's misery, her close confidante, Shabbo, calls up Veer in India and tells him to come and fetch Zaara.

When Veer arrives in Pakistan, Zaara's feelings spill over, leading to her publicly expressing her love for Veer. Unable to bear the prospect of his daughter's broken engagement, and the subsequent loss of social and political prestige, Zaara's father falls seriously ill. Zaara's to-be father-in-law, however, offers to go ahead with the marriage arrangement since there is too much that is politically at stake. On hearing this, Zaara's mother approaches Veer and requests him to let go Zaara, and save her husband's life. Both Veer and Zaara agree to sacrifice their love, and Veer prepares to return to India.

But, Veer and Zaara's love story does not end there. For, Zaara's vengeful fiancee arranges to have Veer arrested on the false charge of being an Indian intelligence officer. He then threatens Veer that he will make Zaara's married life a living hell unless he agrees to confess to the crime...

In the interests of his love's welfare, Veer agrees and spends the next 22 years languishing in a Pakistan jail. Finally, the zealous efforts of a young Pakistani woman lawyer, Saamiya Siddiqui, succeeds in correcting the grave injustice done to Veer, and in uniting the two lovers.
Ostensibly, Veer Zaara may appear to be a love story on the lines of other legendary love classics such as Romeo and Juliet. However, a closer examination of the film will reveal that Yash Chopra, the director, has merely used Veer and Zaara's love story as a vehicle to communicate a much more meaningful and bigger message. And, that is, that there are more similarities than differences between Indians and Pakistanis.

There are certain values in life such as love, honor, compassion, and decency, which form the very basis of human civilization. Such values, in fact, can be said to define humanity even if that humanity is often sharply divided by issues of politics, religion, and culture. Yash Chopra's Veer Zaara uses this insight to highlight the common values shared by the people of India and Pakistan. The film achieves this through its depiction of how love, compassion, and human decency can effectively transcend all political, religious, and cultural barriers. Thus, although the film is a love story, its main purpose can be said to promote greater understanding between the people of India and Pakistan.

In fact, the purpose of Veer Zaara is made amply clear from the beginning of the film, which opens with a montage of beautiful shots of Nature along with a commentary on the universality of Nature and human emotions. It is also significant that a scene, which depicts Saamiya Siddiqui praying at her father's grave, soon follows this opening. For, through Saamiya's monologue, the viewer learns that her father had dedicated…