Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sajjad Delafrooz, Angad Bedi, Kumud Mishra, Girish Karnad, Paresh Rawal
Runtime: 2h 47mins
‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ starts with Ali Abbas creating a pretty intense backdrop for what he has in store for us. A bus full of nurses gets hijacked by a terrorist organization – ISC in Iraq (just for the record, “ISIS” cannot be used nowadays for being flagged as inappropriate). The officials in India decide to appoint Tiger (Salman) for these missions. As we saw Tiger went into an exile towards the end of ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ but as Irshad Kamil clears in Zinda Hai song “Zinda hai zinda rahega woh jab tak marne ki usne thaani nahi”.
Spending his family time with Zoya and Junior Tiger in the Alps, Tiger decides to back his country achieving a mission looking impossible on paper. He builds up his own team having a sniper, a techie, and a bomb defuser. Rest of the story uncovers the stages of this mission. It also shows how the movie is not just about Tiger’s task; it has a broader point of view which Ali reveals in the later half.
Yes, we have Salman Khan in the film but Ali Abbas Zafar is the clear winner of this. He along with Nilesh Misra (who also co-wrote the story of Ek Tha Tiger) has scripted a gripping espionage thriller. The film is not perfect but it’s superior to what we’ve seen in Bollywood. The story keeps you intrigued amidst the machoism of Salman.
Mouthing some rowdy written dialogues, Tiger has more to do than just hunting his enemy down. The movie also has its fair share of ‘aman ki asha’ stuff which might not be welcomed by some people. The story has a lot of scope which is explored by the makers giving it an international touch.
Post some good performance in ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, Salman Khan is back to his home ground. He did what he does the best – entertain everyone. The whistles still reverberate in my head. His presence is “dhamaakedaar” and I love the way how he surrenders himself completely to Ali. Sultan was a blockbuster for the same reason and hope this one achieves the same status.
Katrina Kaif is brilliant (yeah, I was shocked too)! She has been over years and still gets criticized for her acting and language. She should at least shut some of them with this one. She has very few dialogues, and no that’s not the reason she’s good. Working amazingly well with her expressions, she has turned into an athlete for this one. Performing few major action sequences, she is flawless.
Angad Bedi playing the role of the bomb defuser fits the bill perfectly. Having few very good scenes with Salman Angad justifies his part. Kumud Mishra and Girish Karnad are also impactful in their little roles. Paresh Rawal, even in this intense scenario, manages to make you laugh. The baddie Sajjad Delafrooz is just about average (though his look was pretty dope). He’s the younger & broodier version of what Rasheed Naz did in Baby.
All hail Ali Abbas Zafar! When you’ve Salman Khan as your lead star with the backing of a studio like Yash Raj Films you tend to fantasize things making them larger than life. Ali, however, has stuck to basics and goes huge whenever it was needed in the story. Though he tries to forcefully infuse patriotism in the story, it was still fine with me but unclear how others will accept it.
Julius Packiam has done a mind-blowing job with the background score. Knowing the situations very well, Julius tries to paint poetry with his music. Vishal-Shekhar’s songs are also used well in the story without disturbing the plot.
An event for Salman Khan fans, Tiger Zinda Hai is surely the most entertaining fare of 2017.
My Verdict
My Ratings
3.5
Salman Khan is everyone’s Secret Santa this season gifting one enjoyable movie. Thank you, Ali Abbas Zafar!
