Introduction
After a dismal set of films in the recent past and a horrific Eid release this year, Salman Khan is back into his own diaspora of films. These are films, where his bhai-ness holds a purpose, films, where he's unabashedly celebrated, films, where he's Tiger aka Avinash Singh Rathore from the Tiger franchise! And how about amplifying this win-win situation by having Katrina Kaif as the leading lady in the film? Goodness me! 'What can even slightly go wrong'- this is what you're thinking right? While you are right in thinking so, what you should not forget, is the director. This fifth instalment of the YRF Spy Universe is helmed by Maneesh Sharma, the man, who is not at all known for directing action films, and hence, his average grasp on this genre of films has costed Tiger 3 in the worst way possible. Apart from Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, Tiger 3 stars Emraan Hashmi as the main antagonist Aatish Rehman, along with a supporting cast of Revathi, Kumud Mishra, Ranvir Shorey, Vishal Jethwa, and Ridhi Dogra to name a few.
Basic Plot
Enraged by personal losses, a Pakistani General vows to destroy democracy in Pakistan, and in turn, attack India.
Positives
Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif
After their first outing in 2005, Khan and Katrina have starred in several films and have come a long way since. Their maturity is evident through out this film and it's surprising to see the bachelor Khan looking so nice as a husband to Kaif. Both of them almost play their age, giving the film a sense of authenticity and some sharpness to the screenplay. Their chemistry looks all the more engaging this time as the story focuses more on the subtle nuances of the main characters, and thus, you can expect some marital stress and disharmony, the Mr and Mrs Smith way! Khan gives his best while portraying the character of Tiger, and honestly, Khan shows some serious dynamism this time; distrust, heartbreak, loss, pain, grief.. Salman really excels in scenes which don't even find the tiniest of places in his other films. I didn't really found Emraan Hashmi special here, and that's majorly due to his character designing. He does well, carrying out action and emotions effortlessly, but, is restricted, first by the writing, and then by Salman Khan himself. Katrina does equally well too, given the fact that her character has a lot to do here and her part needed to be played accordingly. She's deceits, gets caught, regrets, but can't help it.. playing a character this layered, that too in an action film ain't no joke, and I have to say, Kaif absolutely shines in those portions. Both of these actors handle the action perfectly too. I won't say that this is the best action that we've seen them do, but it's pretty decent, and the leading pair makes sure that the action feels good (even when it's not) to watch. There's a particular fight sequence in a Turkish bath featuring Kaif in a towel which is visually stunning. Whether it was able to live up to the expectations is debatable, you cannot deny that in spite of the action being okayish-ly executed, Katrina oozed the perfect blend of elegance and sensuality in the scene with enough confidence to catch you off guard and make you superbly excited at the same time! There's no such 'special mention' action sequence featuring Salman Khan, but the fight choreography towards the end in that lab sort of a setting was quite nice, majorly due to the camera work. The otherwise decent camera work was quite nice in that scene featuring Khan, which made a very distinct and oxymoronic slow-mo mocobot camera effect.
Geo-political issues and Subtle Callbacks
I'm quite surprised by how director Maneesh Sharma has shown the entire India Pakistan thing in this film, without getting carried away too much either by emotions or by jingoism. I mean, it's a very subtle take on the current state of our not so friendly neighbor and what they've done all along. It's not everyday that you get to see a mainstream Hindi action film shedding some light into some really concerning geopolitics (even if not very relevant), and while that doesn't really fit into the entire story organically, it's presence and mention is enough to justify the otherwise fictional story. Also mentionable are the smart references to the previous Tiger films, especially with the inclusion of popular characters. Gavie Chahal, Ranvir Shorey, and Kumud Mishra make key appearances in the film and in an era where even lead actors are replaced from the sequel of their films, I truly appreciate the decision of keeping these OG characters unchanged. Not only does this add weight to the entire story, but the world building and overall sense of completeness kicks in as well. In fact, Vishal Jethwa is given a character to play whom I really did not expect to hold so much value. The referencing feels all the more genuine and enjoyable mainly due to the performances of the supporting cast and their screen time as well. Songs are good as well and their placements have been the Tiger Zinda Hai way: one track in the beginning and one in the post credits, which doesn't hamper the flow of the pretty dull screenplay here.
Underwhelming Aspects
Direction and Execution
The makers shouldn't have called it a day for director Ali Abbas Zafar after he directed the second instalment of this franchise. Seriously speaking, Maneesh Sharma isn't made for directing these type of films at all, and the consequence is very evident. While the story in particular is quite dated and old fashioned compared to the other films in this universe, the writing isn't far behind. The screenplay by Shridhar Raghavan is pretty average and I'm quite shocked as to how he did not try to retain even half of his signature pulpy charm that he brought to Pathaan just ten months ago. But believe me, all of this could've been saved with a spot-on execution that just doesn't happen. Although a downgrade from Raghavan's usual standards, the screenplay surely had it's own share of meaty elements that could've made a whole lot of difference; double crossing, intentional overhearing of confidential info, a backstory leading to turmoil and hesitation and ultimately resorting to morally grey decisions are some cool elements that are present in the writing, but little do they make an impact. There are quite a few scenes which scream average staging and that made me irritatingly furious. Salman Khan's entry sequence doesn't generate any high moment and it's more enraging than surprising. The chase that follows is dented by shoddy CGI, as is the case for other action scenes as well, and the poor direction only makes matters worse. The film also has a weird jaundice affected yellow-ish color palette through out it's runtime, and that makes the entire film look more somber than it actually is. You literally feel bad for Khan, who, after several allegations of improvising his movie scripts as per his choice, finally decided to surrender himself to the director's vision this time, only to be wasted. Being exhausted in an action film where Salman Khan is performing at the top of his caliber is something that I did not imagine in my wildest of dreams, but you got to admit the truth. You won't realize when the 'missile launch code' sub-plot goes for an absolute toss, and all comes down to Tiger saving his in-laws, i.e Pakistan, and it's democracy. As immature as it sounds, the story went like: Aatish Rehman (Emraan Hashmi) needs to be stopped from taking military control over Pakistan, as that would lead to a direct war with India in no time. So Indian intelligence decides to save Pakistan from being militarized, in order to save their back. Very weird. I did not get the Pakistan democracy thing at all, I mean, why show something that doesn't even exist in the first place. How did story writer and producer Aditya Chopra think, even for once, that this plot will find extreme relevance with the mass audience, is beyond my IQ.
Conclusion
In spite of everything falling into place on paper, things did not really turn out that great for Tiger 3. A dated story, average writing, and a below par direction to top it all contributed to what shouldn't have been the case at all. While performances were really commendable in this film, casting Emraan Hashmi as the main villain while not giving him the required evilness stripped off a major portion of enjoyment from the film. At more than 150 minutes of runtime, you will find this film to be an exhausting roller coaster ride that doesn't really know where to stop or begin with. The climax is filled with ample fight sequences and while they're nice to watch in spite of a relatively weaker climax, the average story did the damage long before climax approached, and hence, those merits hold very little value. The universe that somehow took off with Pathaan goes nowhere with this film, and that's another frustrating miss. There is a Shahrukh Khan cameo in the name of universe expansion whose staging and execution is extremely amateur. Although SRK save the day with his usual wit and charm, the entire scene and the chase that ensued was weirdly staged, amateurly handled, and poorly executed. The film will mint money in this festive week, but what happens next remains to be seen. There's a post credit scene which teases the next big instalment in this universe, and seriously, high hopes are riding on the same. Hope it delivers.'Iss baar tu haarega Tiger' says Emraan Hashmi in the film, and who would've thought that it would be true!
Watch Out For
- Cast performances
- SRK cameo
- Post credit scene
WTF Rating
6.5/10