Yash Raj Films’ Tiger Zinda Hai (UA) is a sequel to Ek Tha Tiger.
Twenty-five Indian and fifteen Pakistani nurses, working in Ikrit (Syria), are held captive in their own hospital by Abu Usman (Sajjad Delafrooz), the head of terrorist outfit ISC. Abu Usman is to be treated in the hospital and he, therefore, has all the other patients thrown out. The Indian government is concerned about the safety of the 25 nurses. Shenoy (Girish Karnad), the head of RAW in India, feels, RAW agent Tiger (Salman Khan) would be the best person for the job which is to be accomplished in just seven days because after that, the US has decided to launch an airstrike on the city of Ikrit to kill the dreaded terrorist. But Tiger’s whereabouts are not known ever since he quit the job and settled down in matrimony with Pakistani secret service agent Zoya (Katrina Kaif). Unknown to the Indian authorities, Tiger and Zoya live in Innsbruck (Austira) and have a little son, Junior (master Sartaj).
Shenoy and his deputy, Karan (Anant Vidhaat), track down Tiger and reach Inssbruck to ask Tiger to undertake the operation to rescue the 25 Indian nurses. A reluctant Tiger has a change of heart when wife Zoya asks him to take up the mission for the sake of his country which, according to her, he should love more than even his wife.
Without waste of time, Tiger is in Syria with his three trusted men – Azaan ( newfind Paresh Pahuja), Capt. Namit (Angad Bedi) and Rakesh (Kumud Kumar Mishra). Before long, Zoya joins him with two team members – Capt. Abrar (Gavie Chahal ‘Navdeep’) and Capt. Javed (Danish Bhat) – because she gets to know what Tiger doesn’t know: that there are 15 Pakistani nurses also held captive in Ikrit alongwith the Indian nurses.
Obviously, it is not easy for Tiger to infiltrate into the hospital where the nurses are held captive because Abu Usman and his men are housed in the same hospital. There’s another big problem: since India and Pakistan are always at loggerheads, how will the teams of Tiger and Zoya work towards the common end to free the nurses from captivity. Will they join forces or not?
Do Tiger and Zoya succeed in their mission? If so, how? What are the many obstacles that come their way?
Neelesh Misra and Ali Abbas Zafar have written an interesting and engaging story with a number of twists and turns. In their story, they have included a dash of emotions, a dash of patriotism and a fair dose of humour with a lot of drama, of course. The India-Pakistan angle is very novel and would definitely be taken in the right spirit by the majority of the audience. In fact, this angle comes as a refreshing change from other films in which the India-Pakistan angle is significant. This angle could well turn out to be the film’s high point.
Ali Abbas Zafar’s screenplay is very fast-paced and doesn’t give the viewers time to think. Yes, there may be a bit too much of the terrorism track and a little less of mass-oriented dialogues but there are still several dialogues which will appeal so much to the masses that the cinema halls will resonate with rounds of applause. The last few reels are absolutely stunning. Special mention must be made of the scene in which Capt. Namit is given the task of diffusing a ticking bomb tied around nurse Purna’s (Anupriya Goenka) body, the scene in which Tiger comes out, shirtless, with a machine gun in his hand, the scene in which the Pakistani secret agent, Capt. Abrar, receives the Indian flag from Indian secret agent Azaan, the scene in which two flags are hoisted from the two windows of a bus, and the last scene when RAW chief Shenoy gets a phone call. The last scene, in particular, brings a smile on the face of the viewer.
Ali Abbas Zafar’s dialogues are excellent and several of them are clapworthy. In fact, some dialogues will elicit loud and huge rounds of applause. But one does wish, there were more such dialogues.
Salman Khan does an outstanding job as Tiger. He gets into the skin of Tiger’s character and shines with a truly noteworthy performance and some fine action and stunts. He looks dashing with a beard, and his bare torso in one scene will floor the audience. Special mention must be made of Salman’s dance in the ‘Swag se karenge sab ka swagat’ song which is just too graceful. Katrina Kaif makes a wonderful mark with both, her acting and her beauty. She absolutely and completely shines in action scenes and stunts. Her dialogues are very clear this time and are mouthed in Hindi without an accent. Her costumes are hep and her dance in the ‘Swag’ song is superb. Sajjad Delafrooz makes for a formidable villain. He plays Abu Usman with the right attitude. Sal Yusuf is effective as Baghdavi. Paresh Rawal makes his presence amply felt as Firdaus. Girish Karnad performs with the dignity the character of Shenoy demands. Anant Vidhaat is such a fine actor that he leaves a mark even though he has few scenes. Kumud Kumar Mishra is truly entertaining as Rakesh. Angad Bedi makes his presence felt in the role of Capt. Namit. Paresh Pahuja lends excellent support as Azaan. Gavie Chahal ‘Navdeep’ has his moments as Capt. Abrar. Danish Bhat marks his presence with a good performance as Capt. Javed. Anupriya Goenka does a splendid job as nurse Purna. Neha Hinge (as nurse Maria), Khalida Jan Touray (as Pakistani nurse Naghma), Kashmira Irani (as Pakistani nurse Sana) and Vibhoutee Sharma (as nurse Jia) lend great support. Master Jignesh (as Hassan) and master Sartaj (as Junior) are cute. Other actors are effective.
Ali Abbas Zafar’s direction is veritably excellent. His easy style of narration and his inclusion of elements of patriotism, emotions and humour in the action drama are intelligent. Vishal-Shekhar’s music is very good. The ‘Swag’ song is already a hit. ‘Dil diya galaan’ is very melodious. ‘Tera noor’ is okay. Irshad Kamil’s lyrics deserve distinction marks. Vaibhavi Merchant’s dance choreography in the ‘Swag’ song is extraordinary. The dance steps are just too wonderful. Julius Packiam’s background music is effective.
Marcin Laskawiec’s cinematography is terrific. It enhances the drama. Tom Struthers’ action and stunts are mind-blowing. Production designing (by Rajnish Hedao, Snigdha Basu and Sumit Basu ) is of a very good standard. Rameshwar S. Bhagat’s editing is razor-sharp. Even though the film is pretty length (running time: 2 hours and 41 minutes), there is not a moment of boredom.
On the whole, Tiger Zinda Hai is a super-entertainer and will yield very huge profits at the ticket windows. The super-hit fare will turn out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of all times.