Tiger 3: An action spectacle for fans of Salman and spy movies but this Tiger doesn’t pack the same punch as War and Pathaan

Emraan Hashmi roars the loudest with his portrayal of the menacing Aatish. Shah Rukh Khan more than makes his presence felt in an extended cameo.

By

Prabhatha Rigobertha

November 12, 2023

In the year 2012 the spy journey of Aditya Chopra and YRF began with the Kabir Khan directorial EK Tha Tiger. It was a love story between a RAW and an ISI agent. Ek Tha Tiger was appreciated for its action and also the love story.

The success of Ek Tha Tiger led to the creation of an entire spy universe like Tiger Zinda Hai, War and Pathaan. Tiger 3 is the fifth film of this universe and there are more to follow.

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Maneesh Sharma the director of Tiger 3 had a huge responsibility on his shoulders as all the previous films of this franchise have gone on to become blockbusters. The director’s last film was Fan. Fan had a gripping first half followed by a lackluster and implausible second half. Viewers could clearly see Maneesh Sharma being overwhelmed by the scale of the film and losing focus. Tiger 3 is another example of Maneesh Sharma’s inability to handle stories of large scale. Tiger 3 is not a bad film but in comparison to War and Pathaan it does fall quite short.

Emraan Hashmi roars the loudest

The plot of Tiger 3 focuses on one of Bollywood’s most favorite theme. That is India, Pakistan’s love hate relationship. The mission of Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger (Salman Khan) is to prevent a military coup and also the assassination of the Pakistani Prime Minister (Simran modeled on Benazir Bhutto). Tiger’s biggest thorn in the back is a Pakistan agent gone rogue Aatish (Emraan Hashmi).  The biggest desire of Aatish is to take over Pakistan and make sure that no kind of peace happens between both the countries.

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Katrina Kaif also reprises her role of Zee Humaimi aka Zoya from the previous two Tiger films. This time around the character of Zoya has a back-story. In this back-story the viewers get to know that Aatish was her former handler. Once upon a time she was a protégée of Aatish but in the present scenario things have changed drastically.

Salman Khan gets into his shoes with practised ease

A big strength of Tiger 3 is the galore of twists and turns at regular intervals. For example in the beginning the viewers are led to believe that Zoya is betraying Tiger by hiding certain information. These twists and turns do keep the viewers on their feet.

Cinematographer Anay Goswamy also does a wonderful job in capturing the many locations of this globe trotter. These include Europe, Russia and Istanbul among others.

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The action sequences have plenty of hand to hand combats and are a definite treat for those who like to see raw action. Two action scenes deserve a particular mention. One is the climax fight between Salman and Emraan Hashmi. The other one is Katrina fighting in a towel inside a Turkish hammam or bath. Both these sequences have been brilliantly shot.

Katrina Kaif in her towel fight scenes

As mentioned in the beginning Emraan Hashmi shines the brightest in this cast. His demeanor and the body language are a treat to watch. Emraan plays the ruthless villain without missing a single beat. A special mention must be made of the scenes that Emraan shares with Katrina in the flashback portions.

One of the most enjoyable portions of Tiger 3 is definitely Shah Rukh Khan’s extended cameo as Pathaan. It is a perfect mixture of action and some very witty dialogues. Viewers can clearly see that Shah Rukh is having a blast. In one of the scenes you have Shah Rukh Khan and Salman in a Sholay inspired motorcycle scene. Pathaan is in the driver’s seat and Tiger makes a joke about how the last time this vehicle was driven only one person came out alive. There is also a post credit scene involving Hrithik Roshan’s Kabir from War. The scene doesn’t last long but Hrithik’s swagger is unmissable.

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A big problem with Tiger 3 is the overtly simplistic treatment of the issues between India and Pakistan. Director Maneesh Sharma doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the Indo-Pak angle. Tiger 3 operates in a fanciful zone of two rival nations hoping to initiate peace talks and end the fear of war. But these noble intentions do not translate effectively on screen.

Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, a camio scene

The love story between Tiger and Zoya is in the same space as in the previous two films. There is no substantial character development in spite of Zoya’s back-story.

Both Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif get into the shoes of their respective characters with practiced ease. As said earlier Katrina shines in the action sequences but her performance in the emotional ones leave a lot to be desired.

Some of the supporting cast from Tiger 1 and 2 are seen in this film as well. They include Ranvir Shorey and Kumud Mishra among others but they are reduced to side dishes. Revathi as the boss takes over from the late Girish Karnad. Unfortunately the senior actress has been severely underutilized. This is sad because Dimple Kapadia in Pathaan made a terrific boss woman.

Pritam’s music consists of only one good number and that is Ruaan. Pritam’s tune coupled with Arjit Singh’s voice makes it a good hear and watch.  

To sum it up Tiger 3 is a step back for the spy universe but here’s hoping that War 2 and others bring it back on track. 

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