Tiger 3: Salman delivers a BLAST on Diwali, but misses out on the essentials
Yash Raj Films seems to have established one thing through its ‘Spy Universe’: R&AW and ISI CAN fall in love and many cross the most perilous of boundaries to save each other. Ek Tha Tiger, the first film of the Salman-Katrina spy film franchise introduced this absurd equation, which was carried forward by Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan, where the protagonist romanced ISI agent Rubina Mohsin, played by Deepika Padukone.
Tiger 3 has the most unimaginative of titles in the franchise, the previous movies being named Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai. As revealed from the teasers, Tiger has to deal with allegations of being a part of anti-India activities, through which he battles and saves his ‘sasural‘ Pakistan from a hyper-jingoistic Emraan Hashmi, who dreamt of having the country under martial law and him as the dictator.
Zoya, played by Katrina Kaif is both graceful and action-packed as ever. The film starts with an ‘origin’ story of Zoya but that part of the plot hasn’t been done much justice as her childhood story is relegated to her being recognised as her father’s daughter throughout the running time, as her own identity was sidelined.
There was a norm that Salman’s films would have a release on Eid, SRK on Diwali and Aamir Khan on Christmas. With the third Khan being out of the picture for quite some time, the timings have since interchanged.
Tiger 3 packs in powerful cameos. Everyone knew that Shah Rukh Khan was going to make an appearance, as revealed in Pathaan. The whistles and hooting touched a different ceiling when Pathaan entered to free his friend Tiger from captivity, the same way Salman came to save SRK in the latter’s film. The ‘third spy’ of Yash Raj Films’ spy universe makes a small but powerful appearance in the film’s post-credits.
Overall, Tiger 3 is a very massy film which was essential for the revival of the stag-phenomenon called ‘Salman Khan’ after Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan failed to make a dent at the box-office.
While ticking all the boxes for a blockbuster, Tiger 3 fails to pack in the essential thrill due to lousy writing. A pretentious storyline with predictable characters and lots of whistle-worthy action sequences with glimpses of romance make up the film. The songs don’t tap the nerve, as they did in Pathaan.
To end, it is a family watch this Diwali.
