Ek Tha Tiger – Film Review
Film: Ek Tha Tiger
Producer: Aditya Chopra
Director: Kabir Khan
Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Girish Karnad,
Ranvir Shorey, Roshan Sheth.
Genre: Action, Spy, Romantic Thriller.
Ratings : 
FULL ON ENTERTAINER ! NO PRETENSIONS ! NO TENSION !
What audience and people at large love most is a human being as human as them, but having the charisma & power to do all that and more, which he is not able to do himself in real life, & than goes about idolizing that role model to the extent of cult following. Salman over a period of years& varied roles he has portrayed has somehow been able to project that human angle & his advocating ‘Being Human’ charity has added to the collective force that Salman is able to deliver.
Yash Raj Productions (with its Track record over last 50 years has delivered cinema cut size as per the demands & liking of the generations over 5 decades. Keeping in mind Salman Khan’s Super human pull over masses, young & old alike has used this very power & packaged & presented him in yet another pot boiler, blockbuster of an action packed Romantic Spy thriller’’Ek Tha Tiger’’!
Aditya Chopra has this knack of bringing together the threads of the story in such a way that even impossible things start appearing logical in the given situation.
The whole film right from the first frame when the Tiger enters the frame with his imposing back over looking the distinct hilly location of Northern Iraq in silhouette creates a Halo! Sort of all around. From here on its like an unending chase sequence which sets the pace of the film in establishing the character of an Indian secret spy agent code named Tiger(Salman khan) in the lanes, by lanes, terraces, market place & where not.
Just imagine pairing of Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif after an hiatus of 4 years, and having Yash Raj banner with its grand production values in place & Kabir Khan – a daredevil & fearless film maker to wield the megaphone –what can you expect –Nothing less than a Full on ! High octane extravaganza!!!
Having completed his mission in Iraq our man of the moment is handed an assignment where he is required to just keep an eye on an Indian origin professor(cum scientist) at Trinity College who is suspected of being approached to pass on some valuable information on missile technology to Pakistan’s ISI..
Tiger lands in the Irish capital of Dublin to follow the professor, but with no results, ultimately he accidentally befriends Zoya (Katrina Kaif), the part time care taker of the professor (Roshan Seth) and in the process of keeping tab on him, sparks fly fast & furious between Manish Chandra (Tiger) & Zoya during their theatre rehearsal encounters, where she is a Dance Instructor.
Tiger mellows down. Gopi (Ranvir Shorey), a RAW agent and a colleague of Tiger approves of tigers choice-but warns never the less to stay away from such emotional traps- as love is not meant for them. But the strong attractions & love which has developed between Tiger & Zoya is difficult to stay off. What follows is a rollercoaster of a ride which Tiger & Zoya embark upon fighting and overcoming the barricades & obstructions created by the intelligence agency which does not approve of such deviations to lead a normal life.
Kabir Khan who has written the script with Neelesh Mishra has managed to keep the tempo of action & Romance well in balance. He has crafted every shot beautifully. The rustic looks of the third world countries like Iraq, Dublin in Ireland; Havana-Cuba & Indonesia are masterfully captured. But all this would not have been possible without the help of the masterfully orchestrated stunt and action scenes by the master of Action Conrad Palmisano. And some jumping, falling and parkour stunts for which Salman Khan trained himself. One of the highlight stunt shot is when Salman stops a rushing tram from colliding into mainstream traffic with the help of his blazer, which does not catch fire from the short circuit sparks and nor does our Tiger get electrocuted ? Maybe those are the perks of superhuman secret agents and such situations don’t affect them!!!
Salman & Katrina’s chemistry is very endearing and they look just awesome in their romantic escapade sequences. One sequence where they dodge the ISI agents is beautifully shot & executed. Very nicely synchronized daredevil stunts & action sequences. What can you say about Katrina Kaif, she looks more & more beautiful with every film, here she looks like a dream, and makes her presence felt in both soft romantic & action sequences alike with effortless ease! Ranvir shorey is adequate, & so is Roshan Sheth as a professor in a cameo role. Girish Karnad exudes that elegance as the Tiger’s big boss Shenoy.
But the film belongs to the Tiger (Salman Khan), who has portrayed the role of a RAW agent as good as one man army or you might as well call him a Terminator, for whom every mission is possible & nothing is impossible. It goes to the full credit of Aditya Chopra as a writer who has sketched the character & Kabir Khan who is able to execute it to near perfection … the lost look in the Tiger’s ( Salman’s ) eyes suggesting that the life of a secret agent is devoid of all the regular excitements, romance and social interaction, is very strong and comes across in the character who is shown as a rugged, handsome and mysterious bachelor with no definite identity for the outside world as a Research and Analysis Wing ( RAW ) Officer. And the transition which comes across with cupid striking & Tiger seeing love in his beloved’s eyes is very striking. Salman is all the more at home in such light situations and appears charmingly vulnerable.
Camerawork by Aseem Mishra, is a visual delight. Foot tapping songs by Sohail Sen & Sajid Wajid add to the tempo of the film. Editing by Rameshwar Bhagat is world class and very crisp and tight.
Ek Tha Tiger is a Full on Entertainer with no pretensions and false claims! Just go and lap it up and make most of it!!!
