You know your ‘blockbuster’ is in trouble when a superstar cameo – something the audience has been looking forward to – feels like it’s droning on. Ten months ago, Salman Khan’s Tiger showed up to rescue Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan in the Siddharth Anand film, his checkered scarf getting some of the loudest cheers in the theatre. In Maneesh Sharma’s Tiger 3, Shah Rukh Khan returns the favour, by announcing his character’s arrival more literally – ‘Jhoome Jo Pathaan’, composed by Vishal-Shekhar, plays in a portable speaker and explodes seconds later.
In Pathaan, there was a playfulness to the Khans teaming up to do action together for the first time since Karan Arjun (1995) and a whole lot of winky banter about when it’s about the nation, they can’t afford to leave it to the young ones. In Tiger 3 however, the banter feels jaded, the action set-pieces seem to lack purpose and what was supposed to be a joyous reunion, begins to feel like an obligation towards the cinematic universe, or ‘spyverse’ as producers YRF calls this franchise.
The difference in the care and affection to set these sequences up in the respective films, also ends up being the difference between the films. While Anand’s film felt like it had light feet and coasted on charm, Sharma’s film feels stodgy, bearing the weight of a star, who doesn’t seem to wish to take even the smallest risks.
Director Maneesh Sharma has never imposed a signature on his films. While that can often be an asset for a franchise film, a director’s less-than-distinct vision is also revealed fairly quickly. Like it often does for spies, the past comes back for Zoya and Tiger. A disenchanted patriot (Emraan Hashmi), comes for the two super spies and their son, unimaginatively called Junior. What follows are a couple of renegade missions, the spectacular line around the interval point “Zoya bhabhi ne Tiger bhai ko dhokha de diya?” (Did Zoya bhabhi betray Tiger bhai?) and a maniac’s ‘vision’ for the future of his country.
Even though we’re watching an extravagant spy film, Tiger 3’s opening scenes feel grounded and promising. A large part of it is because of Sridhar Raghavan’s fluent dialogue and Hashmi’s unsettling presence. Playing the part of a disgraced ISI agent Aatish Rehman – who worked with Zoya’s (Kaif’s) father – Hashmi feels relaxed, and yet focused. He’s never been regarded as the most promising talent around, but it’s been nice to witness his growth over the years. One can sense a hunger in him to improve as an actor, which becomes all the more apparent when he’s pitted against the leading man in Tiger 3-it is he who makes that extra effort.
The fine villain apart, Tiger 3 falters because there’s very little in terms of personality to the titular spy. No one walked into Maneesh Sharma’s film thinking Salman Khan would deliver something in the same vein as Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves, but the audience deserves to see at least some effort, does it not? Khan goes through the motions, without breaking a sweat, and a furrowed-brow expression. There’s simply no human characteristic to the spy, other than his physicality and boring, ugly swagger. How much of a film can be shouldered on a star’s swagger alone?
A still from ‘Tiger 3’.
On the other hand, Katrina Kaif’s Zoya keeps getting the shorter end of the stick. Kaif is a much more dynamic action star than Khan – something she showcases in a fight sequence that takes place in a Hammam bath. However, she’s relegated as a device to explain to the audience everything that the characters are doing – so that everyone’s on board. The result is she is offered little in terms of personality, lest she outshine the hero. Revathy, who replaces the late Girish Karnad as the R&AW chief in the film, keeps the repartee snappy with her agents. In one scene, she tells a few of them how Yerwada jail only offers one soap to its inmates to bathe and wash.
Like the rest of the films in YRF’s spy universe, even Tiger 3 keeps up the pretence of championing secular values. The distinction between the radical Pakistani army and peace-loving Pakistanis is made more than once. Tiger keeps referring to the neighbouring country as his maayka (a married woman’s mother’s home) – an endearing touch. However, when the moment really arrives, Tiger 3 isn’t able to hide its intent to ride the wave of hideous jingoism. It becomes visible in a choice – when an ISI agent is shot dead, but the R&AW spy’s throat is sliced open. The good-natured, peace-loving Pakistani prime minister (Simran) kicks off Pakistan’s independence day celebrations with the Indian national anthem. Even for a Salman Khan film, and in today’s times when patriotic fantasies seem to know no bounds, it’s a bit of a stretch.
In Pathaan, Shah Rukh Khan paraphrases John F. Kennedy in the climax: “A soldier asks what they can do for their country, not what a country can do for them.” In Salman Khan’s world, where the stakes for million dollar set-pieces feel inconsequential, the emotional beats feel insincere and the patriotism almost begins to seem like a surrogate to the country asking “What more can we do to further Salman Khan’s swagger?”
Not all of the film’s 156 minutes are comatose though. Salman Khan’s Tiger has one moment of grace. Hurtling down using a parachute with Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan, they’re reminded how the two super spies have just the one parachute between them. Tiger offers it to Pathaan saying “Waise bhi tere udte huye baal aur bhi achhe lagte hai (Your flying hair makes you look cooler).” Generosity, now that’s a human characteristic that Tiger could’ve used in the rest of the film.