Ek Tha Tiger

FASTER than Usain Bolt, more charming than Rudolph Valentino and able to leap from building rooftops gracefully.

Salman Khan does these and more, including stripping off to show off his torso and wiggling his hips to dance music.

However, his two most impressive feats are stopping a runaway electric tram with only his jacket, and becoming Evil Knievel to jump into an aircraft that's just taken off.

Salman plays Indian spy Tiger, who's never taken a day off in 12 years and hasn't had time for romance.

His next assignment takes him to Ireland to keep an eye on a professor (Roshan Seth, who appeared in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), who may be leaking missile secrets to Pakistan.

His first introduction to the professor's assistant, Zoya (Katrina Kaif), is by way of her lithe body and wiggly buttocks. Which tough guy could resist that?

To cut a long story short, Tiger falls for Zoya, who is revealed to be a Pakistani spy. The movie purports to show him killing her, but I knew that this flick wouldn't dare to portray our dear hero as a heartless killer.

The two run off together but not before triggering an international manhunt from the two countries. They attempt to lie low in Havana but those Cuban robbers just can't stay away from a handsome Indian couple.

When Tiger's boss asks him why he ran off, he says that he's now choosing his heart over his mind. Dear viewers, this is an eye-opener.

The movie wants us to believe that love will conquer all and even makes a case that Romeo and Juliet will bring two spy agencies that hate each other to the table to tackle a common enemy.

This was my first Salman movie, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by his clownish antics, cute dialogue, non-stop roller-coaster action and his chemistry with Katrina. The final part must be because the two used to date each other.

Katrina shows that she's no shrinking violet as her character beats the hell out of some baddies.

I also liked the travelogue feel of the movie, which takes viewers to New Delhi, Ireland, Istanbul and Havana.

The dance scenes in Ireland and Cuba are colorful and full of verve, and they reflect the cultures of the countries. For example, there's a salsa beat to the music in Cuba. For this, credit goes to director Kabir Khan.

However, the movie's interminable length, implausible action and cheesy love theme will get you down.

Love transcends boundaries, but it can only get you so far with viewers.

** Movie Magic With Jeff Lee (blogspot and Facebook)

Definitely a one time watch.... Watch it in theaters for: 1)All the action sequences(specially Kat in second half...it even beats the BOND series) 2)Mesmerizing Salman-Kat Chemistry....(Even they look awesome here :D ) 3)Few witty dialogs about Indo-Pak relations(Its from a common man's heart specially the one at the end) 4)Salman Salman and Salman....("kya TIGER!!!....TIGER to kutte ka naam hota hai..") He portrays an extraordinary spy who's needs are as ordinary as our's(After long time he play a common guy)...Its all about sallu-kat romance and love with a strong flavor of action(Best part of movie)

Please don't search for following : 1)LOGIC 2)LOGIC 3)LOGIC Just don't expect logic or loads of twists...keep your brains out and enjoy the film!!!

After watching recent Salman Khan starrers – completely idiotic movies combining dreadful writing, infantile humor, and hammy acting, most of it courtesy Mr. Khan ("Ready", "Dabangg") – I decided to steer clear of Salman Khan films, unless the word of mouth was overpoweringly good. However, do note that "Ready" and especially "Dabangg" were huge hits, so the paying public is not necessarily complaining about the quality of Salman Khan films. Rather, they flock to see middle-aged but well-muscled Mr. Khan as an ageing Romeo romancing nubile Juliets young enough to be his daughters. Mr. Khan, affectionately known as Bhai or brother in the Bombay film industry, is famous for his idiosyncrasies, his volatile temper, his feuds, and in the past few years, for his philanthropy through his NGO "Being Human". Underworld dons are also called Bhai, so one is not certain if it is filial affection or pure fear that earned him this nickname.

But due to the promising press for "Ek Tha Tiger", I checked out Mr. Khan's latest release. Like Jason Bourne in the deservedly successful Bourne franchise, Mr. Khan portrays a covert agent of India's Research and Analysis Wing. This would be equal to the US CIA or UK's MI5 (or is it MI6? – I can't keep my spy agencies straight), and like the globe trotting Mr. Bourne, Mr. Khan's Tiger criss-crosses the planet battling nefarious Pakistani agents from their secret service, ISI.

Kabir Khan, the writer-director of this film, constructs an entertaining popcorn flick utilizing Mr. Khan's strengths: his macho persona, his eccentricity, and his muscled torso. He also concedes Mr. Khan, nudging fifty, should no longer portray lovelorn teenagers. Instead, he plays a lovelorn middle-aged man, and does what Jason Bourne wouldn't be caught dead doing: he sings, he dances, he brandishes enormous bouquets and prettily wrapped presents. And he has a lot of fun doing it; Jason Bourne might find these activities effective stress diffusers, and would do well to unclench and enroll as "John Smith" in a salsa dancing class or take up pottery or French cooking. He'll live longer this way, and we'll be assured of many more installments in the Bourne saga. But I digress…

This tale's spectacularly filmed opening has Mr. Khan, er, Bhai, tracking down and kicking the stuffing out of a rogue RAW agent in Iraq. Then his commanding officer (a magisterial Girish Karnad) dispatches him to observe an oddball professor Dr. Kidwai (Roshan Seth) at Dublin's famed Trinity College, suspected of sharing his expertise in a nuclear missile deflection system with the Pakistanis. When Tiger meets the charmingly fey professor under the pretext of collecting material for a book on India's finest minds, the don balks at the amount of shadowing Tiger is going to subject him to. His query is justified: Do you want to write a book on me, or do you wish to marry me?

Kabir Khan peppers his screenplay with dry wit, takes us to far-flung places with genuine payoffs, and gets the proportion of the ingredients just right.

Without giving anything away, I can tell you that Tiger falls for one Zoya (Katrina Kaif), cleaning woman for the loopy Dr. Kidwai and his pug, in between choreographing dance routines that are straight lifts from River Dance. An avid multi-tasker, she also embarks on a romance with the fumbling Tiger, new to wooing instead of wounding. His secret agent buddy Gopi (an excellent Ranvir Sheorey) looks on in bafflement as the fearsome Tiger morphs into a bashful suitor.

Then, as must always happen in such tales, Tiger and Zoya find themselves on the lam in picturesque Havana. Unlike other people in deep cover, they sing, they dance, they get caught on camera (that's Jason Bourne rolling his eyes, muttering "Amateurs"), which results in the combined spy forces of India and Pakistan giving pursuit.

It's thrilling, it's engaging, it features white-knuckle chases and stunts, some by Ms. Kaif, who plays the conflicted Zoya. I always anticipate Ms. Kaif's artistic evolution with bated breath. She has demolished more movies with her bad acting than Mr. Khan ever did with his fists. Finally, in last year's "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" (You Only Live Once), she played a character with some measure of conviction, the sporty, mixed-race Laila. Her Zoya here is an extension of that Laila persona: once again, she is of mixed parentage, and again, she gets to use her athleticism.

Through diligent study, Ms. Kaif has pared her acting approach down to a single facial expression. We, the audience, are meant to decode the emotions in that expression in different situations – Ms. Kaif does not encourage lazily sitting back and letting her do all the hard work. The onus is on us: we are meant to look at that pretty, unchanging visage and deduce, aha, now she feels despair; now resignation, and yes, this has to signify either sultriness or acute constipation, and this, immense yearning. I liked that she kept me on my toes throughout her scenes, figuring out just what she was communicating through that one versatile all-purpose expression. Ms. Kaif can no longer be accused of being wooden; I salute her intelligence in pioneering a unique acting style offering discerning audiences a collaborative experience.

The film ends with one astonishing stunt, and we can only hope this means Tiger lives to roar another day. Amid the noise and fury of his rambunctious high-octane actioner, Kabir Khan makes one important point: it is truly obscene that India and Pakistan, countries with staggering amounts of poverty, illiteracy, starvation, and poor health care, earmark disproportionately large percentages of their national budgets for defense spending. Both nations would be infinitely better off, if like Tiger and Zoya, they opt to make love, not war. Human nature being what it is, such hopes would meet with Girish Karnad's cynical parting shot in the film: "Good Luck".

Brilliant plot which has been poorly executed till the first half. Bollywood directors seems to be poor in setting up stories (like Players vs. The Italian Job) and that's where this movie takes a beat. The movie bores you till death with poor story flow, pathetic dialogues, mistimed punches, dragged and unrealistic chases/fights. Even the heroics of Salman Khan and acting icon like Girish Karnad could not wake you up.

But come second half and the movie has everything you can expect in this kind of movie. The surprizing twists n turns in the story (reminds me of RACE), perfectly timed punches and very well executed fight sequences will make you change your opinion. For Salman Khan and Katrina fans, its a must watch. Rest might save their money for something better.

The first time in Salman's long & illustrious career that he has worked with Yash Raj. Ek Tha Tiger naturally raised huge expectations. Were they fulfilled? Read on..

Ek Tha Tiger is essentially a montage - mostly of action & chase sequences, and a couple of songs thrown in. Yes, the action is absolutely top-notch, and the visuals esp the cinematography are to die for. Yes, the performances are largely adequate - Salman, Girish Karnad, Ranvir Shorey and Roshan Seth in a cameo; but it is Katrina who is the winner in the performance stakes - whether it is matching Salman kick for kick in action sequences or doing some real daredevil stunts (at least that is what I gather - and boy, she looks really cool in the action sequences).

But at the end of the day a solid storyline and a good screenplay are crucial in how a film turns out. Aditya Chopra himself is listed as one of the story-writers - but I am sorry to say that the storyline is really a downer - I mean, yes, there are a couple of twists, but none that an experienced movie goer would not have been able to guess . Kabir Khan - I had high hopes from u after Kabul Express & New York. Better luck with your next film. I also realize now why YRF were keen on Salman Khan for this film - if anyone can still make such a sorry script work and bring in the crowds, it is him.

My rating is a 3 stars. 1 each for Katrina, the Action/Stunt directors & the cinematographer... very disappointed with the poor story & direction.