Ek Tha Tiger

Any reason why those critics would have praise for 'Ek Tha Tiger' is because they were promised a share of its opening success. But just as its box-office smashing opening, it begins on an impressive high in a sequence that is supposedly shot in Iraq with some stunning cinematography. The breathtaking location is supported by a well choreographed action sequence atop roofs of the low structures and bazaar streets. However, once we are introduced to this R.A.W. Agent named 'Tiger', it all starts going downhill from there. Dublin, Havana, Istanbul, London or New Delhi no longer resemble those breathtaking visuals we had seen in Iraq. It's as though the cinematographer and director had changed for the rest of the movie. The action starts looking amateurish and the R.A.W. Agent loses his credibility of being an agent at all. With its non-existent story-telling, weak direction and Salman's stiff, expression-less portrayal, one loses respect for 'Ek Tha Tiger' and rather appreciates several aspects of its predecessor of R.A.W. Reference, 'Agent Vinod'.

After he is done showing off his macho physique in the Delhi neighbourhood upon his return from Iraq, Tiger is keen on jumping to his next assignment that takes him to Dublin, on the trail of a professor (Roshan Seth) who is reluctant to meet anyone but his own dog. Tiger meets Zoya (Katrina Kaif), who introduces him to the professor, he falls for her, digresses from his mission completely, sings a song or two and is then shocked to find out Zoya's true identity who is actually.... wait for it..... an I.S.I. Agent!! Kabir Khan plays 'New York's surprise story once again while Tiger gets all gloomy back in New Delhi. His next mission takes him to Istanbul where he decides to elope with Zoya, right under the noses of R.A.W. And I.S.I's officials. Then, by switching identities and putting up incredulous disguises that makes Salman look like Suryavanshi all over again, they escape to Cuba where they stupidly pose in action in front of the camera for the world to see. Once again, they're on the run in undisclosed locations and false identities. R.A.W.'s chief, (Girish Karnad) thus concludes the theme of the movie – Ek Tha Tiger. If this was lame to read through, you have no idea how it is to sit through the film when the action simply becomes laughable with conspicuous body doubles doing all the work for our senior citizen Tiger. These sequences also involve him jumping from an airborne motorcycle into the open door of an already flying airplane in a choppy CGI shot. Rajnikant's jaw must've dropped as well.

Kabir Khan never had it right after the opening sequence. If this is the story that Aditya Chopra comes up with, then it's time he hands over all creativity back to his father. The plot has no complexity whatsoever and Tiger's weakness as a dedicated R.A.W. Agent simply dampens the already struggling plot. Compare all this to Shriram Raghavan's slick 'Agent Vinod' - The plot was convoluted for being a spy thriller, the romance never became too serious and it never digressed the film's focus which revolved around the agent's mission. The action was more credible and so was Saif's portrayal as a secret agent. 'Ek Tha Tiger' makes 'Agent Vinod' look like it was made under the MGM banner with Martin Campbell directing it.

Katrina Kaif does well in her role as an I.S.I. Agent. Although, she looks too beautiful to be taken seriously as one. In the Mashallah song, Katrina looks like a gift from the Gods to mankind. Salman Khan looks much older than ShahRukh Khan did in Ra.One and his physique is perhaps so bulky that his movements are even more restricted. For a simple jump from the first storey, he needs a body double. His movement in action and dance is just so stiff that it robs the essence of the character he is playing. To the extent that agent Tiger is too Salman- ish rather than the other way round. Yet, he has done his best in portraying a character that wasn't even well written to begin with. Ranvir Shorey is the most fun to watch though. His performance is brilliant as Tiger's support and he brings the humor as well as the seriousness in the film. Girish Karnad seems a bit extreme as the chief of R.A.W. while he devours Tiger's special Daal and sulks about his lost love. But we'll take that since we haven't seen him in a while.

Sohail Sen's music will be remembered for the arabic tune of Masha-allah and for Mohit Chauhan's melodious singing in Saiyaara to some fine tunes.

Director Kabir Khan has reportedly used Salman's advice while filming 'Ek Tha Tiger' and certainly that did not help his cause. While he had the potential to create something superlative with such a cast and the promise of the opening sequence, he washed it all down with the ridiculous action sequences that followed, the frivolous plot-line and poorly written characters. It seems like anything goes for success these days and 'Ek Tha Tiger' is a shining example that audiences can decide the fate of any film. With its ginormous collections already, there is no need to contribute more to its makers' wallets. You can wait a while and watch it on Zee or Doordarshan....

• 5.55 on a scale of 1-10.

Salman shooting villains as he slides backwards down a flight of stairs is amazeballs.

Roger Moore's film Octopussy can boast of these stunts which were done decades before Ek Tha Tiger.

Moore catches an aeroplane while riding a horse.

Moore does a sliding on the rail of steps while shooting villains.

I saw this for the first time recently n was pleasantly surprised. I had seen part 2 in theatre without watching this part.

The film has a different take on the spy genre with some good action but the parkour stuff is lousy.

We have people jumping from high heights n land straight on both feet without hurting ankles or any injuries. The film has some unnecessary n irritating slow mo stuff. It has some lovely locations.

Salman shud have opted for weight loss n shud hav hired a good stylist. He is very overweight in this film n his baggy trousers outdated.

The film lacked fine editing.

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".

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.

To start of with, I didn't like the previous 2 movies of Salman, viz. Ready and Bodyguard. But Ek tha Tiger for me, is a pleasant entertainer. Kabir Khan after 'Newyork' does a good job as a director again. Credit goes to him coz he makes Tiger a very charming character like Chulbul Pandey and Salman Khan executed it precisely.

Salman is at his best, both in romance and action. Katrina looks gorgeous and has equal screen time. She has performed well. Both the leads are in the best costumes, specially in songs. Cinematography is top-notch. The screenplay works at a decent pace though some cinematic liberty has been taken in the storyline. I wasn't bored throughout. The action is excellent, thanks to stunt crew from Hollywood. Music is OK. Its one of the good films of Salman and a must watch.