I fail to understand why the makers of a major Salman Khan starrer franchise ‘Tiger 3’ chose to release on a Sunday! Why not release on the preceding Friday to use the weekend and later, to cash on the festive mood! Well, it’s a matter of business and I will leave it at that. For me and the audience the reason to watch Tiger 3 is as much their mission as the makers – ‘Mission Time Pass’. With Salman Khan top lining the cast, one is well aware that it has to be a fan pleasing ‘Salman Khan entertainer’, period.
The ‘Tiger’ franchise has changed its captain again with ‘Fan’ director Maneesh Sharma at the helm of affairs. He doesn’t let you blink with its over-the-top action, some decent performances, twists and a gripping screenplay. Maneesh Sharma packs all the elements in a manner that it makes for an intriguing watch.
After a brief backgrounder about Aatish Rehman (Emraan Hashmi) and Zoya (Katrina Kaif) you just sit back and enjoy the ride as the plot kicks off with a fast-paced action sequence involving a severely tortured RAW agent Gopi Arya, Tiger’s former handler (Ranvir Shorey) and Tiger’s rescue & motorcycle chase. But before dying Gopi informs Tiger that Zoya (Katrina Kaif) is a double agent!
Tiger is assigned a mission – ‘Mission Time Pass’ – to save Jibran Shaikh, where he learns that Zoya (Katrina Kaif) is assigned to assassinate Shaikh. He foils the mission but confronts Zoya, who reveals that Aatish Rehman (Emraan Hashmi), a disgruntled, former Deputy Director of ISI, had forced her to take the mission of assassinating Sheikh by keeping Junior, Tiger and Zoya’s son, (Sartaaj Kakkar) hostage. Now, Aatish orders Tiger and Zoya to execute another mission in Istanbul, where they get framed as traitors by their respective countries.
How the duo of Tiger and Zoya with their team set out on a life-threatening crusade to exact revenge on Aatish and thwart his plan of destroying Pakistan’s democracy to become the dictator PM himself, forms the major part of the third instalment of the ‘Tiger’ franchise.
As for the narrative, it keeps oscillating between Tiger and Aatish with engaging twists and turns. Another uniqueness of the story is the vocal assertion of Pakistan PM Nasreen Irani (Simran), talking about peace with India. It does not stop at that, the Pak PM, in her independence day speech proclaims that the threat to her were her own people while it was the Indian ‘Tiger’ who protected her and the Pak democracy from falling into wrong hands. Wait… there is more, the Pak PM before thanking Tiger and his team plays the Indian National Anthem too.
So now you know where the YRF spy universe is heading.
For all the Salmaniacs, the smartly choreographed action never stops. Notably the very first bike sequence riding through the terraces and leading upto a narrow wooden path on the sides of a hill looks well executed. Not to leave behind Zoya, who is involved in a unique bathroom fight with just a towel on!
However the icing on the cake is the new mixing of franchise. Earlier Tiger had helped Pathaan, this time it is vice-versa. The longish action sequence is imaginative and refrains from the clichés in the earlier one but not without the seemingly witty one-liners by Shah Rukh Khan. It involves everything from bike chases, helicopter, parachutes and also some rope stunts (the last time we saw such a rope stunt was in RRR) to create that adrenalin rush amongst the audience who seem to enjoy whatever is fed to them by OG Karan Arjun of Bollywood.
Salman Khan plays his age, that too a father and refrains from dropping his shirt. The director compensates with Katrina getting into nothing but a towel in a bathroom fight sequence. She gets to do some smart action in the initial reels when Tiger doubts her intentions and catches her in action. Emraan Hashmi gets an opportunity to board the YRF spy universe in a Salman Khan franchise with a salt & pepper getup, but fails to create that menace required to take him seriously against Salman Khan.
The narrative and the plot of Tiger 3 is intricate and complex with twists and turns waiting to unfold periodically, with some top-notch hand-to-hand combats and unrealistic yet superbly choreographed action sequences. What remains addressed is the inconsistent pace.
Tiger 3 is a better film in terms of its plot, sticking to it without deviating into unnecessary song & dance (keeping it for the last) and its twists and turns including the Pathaan part. A must watch for all Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan fans.
Psst psst… don’t miss Hrithik Roshan in Tiger 3
Movie: Tiger 3
Directed by: Maneesh Sharma
Cast: Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi, Kumud Mishra, Ranvir Shorey, Revathi, Simran, Riddhi Dogra, Vishal Jethwa
Duration: 2hrs 36mins
