Tiger 3 has a very peculiar packaging, considering the hate politics we see in Bollywood movies of late. SPOILER ALERT! It is actually the story of an Indian agent helping Pakistan to continue as a democracy. On paper, that thought is very inspiring as a mainstream potboiler trying to infuse some political awareness to the masses who are fans of peripheral hate politics. But when it comes to the overtly star-worshipping execution, Tiger 3 sort of ends up looking like a guilty pleasure entertainer where its weak bits give you more fun in a way the makers didn’t intend.
Tiger is given this “Time Pass” mission by the RAW chief to extract an old agent from Afghan soil. At the end of the mission, Tiger learns certain things about Zoya that shatter him. The quest for the truth behind what he knew about Zoya leads to a man named Aatish Rehman, a former ISI officer. Rehman’s plans to rule Pakistan and Tiger’s efforts to stop him with his limited resources and damaged reputation are what we see in Tiger 3.
In the first 30 minutes of the movie, when the film sets the conflict as Tiger versus Zoya, I was really impressed, thinking now it sort of makes sense why an ISI agent decided to make a top RAW agent her life partner. But the screenplay by Shridhar Raghavan doesn’t really want to hold on to that thought and make something grey or fresh out of that murky space. Instead, he goes the Pathaan way, with missions at different places jointly done by Tiger and Zoya to protect their son. The movie’s climax is happening inside the PMO of Pakistan, and the back and forth of the power game between Tiger and Aatish goes on for too long, exhausting us.
Considering the genuinely forgettable outings of Salman Khan in the recent past, I would say Tiger 3 offers him a chance to be a star rather than being himself on screen. The story provides him with moments to portray emotional conflict and vulnerability, which was more than enough for me as we haven’t seen him express those emotions in a long while. Katrina Kaif, as Zoya, is fit and fast, and the performance is more swagger-oriented, and it was there in her performance. Emraan Hashmi, as the badass villain Aatish Rehman, is easily my favorite as he reduces the tiring nature of the movie to an extent with his confident portrayal of the character. Simran plays the role of the Pakistan PM, while Kumud Mishra is there as the team member of Tiger. Revathy, Riddhi Dogra, Anant Vidhaat Sharma, Aamir Bashir, and Ranveer Shorey are the other actors here.
Maneesh Sharma is not trying to make Tiger 3 unique in any way. After that initial spurge, we can see the movie trying to emulate the formula Pathaan set in terms of writing and visual style. I wasn’t a massive fan of the writing of Pathaan, and it was actually the celebration of the stardom of Shah Rukh Khan that made me enjoy that film. Regarding Tiger 3, the star worshipping is very much on the face, and I must say YRF should consider an algorithm update for their spy movies. It feels like the broad-stroke screenplays of Sridhar Raghavan are getting saved by star power rather than his writing enhancing the star power. A Russo brothers-like reinvention is essential if Aditya Chopra has plans to keep making more movies in this universe. The face-swapping visual effects of the VFX team have improved considerably, and the quality of the first set piece in the film was quite commendable. But still, there are areas in the movie where the CGI elements stick out.
Cameos of the Khans in each other’s films are a thing, and I know nobody is looking for logic. Yes, that introduction of Pathaan in this movie just made the audience go crazy (me included), but it’s just that the meta-humor is sometimes overdone. If they can blend the entry of the character in a way that makes sense in the story’s context, things would be a lot more satisfying. Considering how Pathaan and Tiger have this habit of demolishing bridges, I won’t be surprised if Tiger vs. Pathaan comes with the tagline “Bridge of Spies.” Overall, I would say Tiger 3 is better by Bhai standards, but it is kind of funny by usual standards.
Overall, I would say Tiger 3 is better by Bhai standards, but it is kind of funny by usual standards.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
