Ek Tha Tiger Review
Ek Tha Tiger Review (Ek Tha Tiger Movie Poster)
Ek Tha Tiger Movie Poster
Star Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Ranvir Shorey and Girish Karnad.
What’s Good: The cinematography; some twists in the film; the music.
What’s Bad: The plot seems stretched; unexplained loops.
Loo Break: Not really.
Watch or Not: Watch Ek Tha Tiger for Salman Khan at the top of his game and some exciting action scenes.
Rating:
2652 Votes
India is in safe hands with RAW spies like Tiger (Salman Khan) who chase, beat and gun down enemies of the state no matter which foreign country they are in. Forever on the move, Tiger’s latest assignment is to observe the movements of a certain Trinity College scientist in the UK. Accustomed to using his fists for getting information, our desi 007 finds it a bit difficult to get close to this aloof scientist.
But there’s the professor’s beautiful housekeeper Zoya (Katrina Kaif) who can help Tiger. In the guise of a writer, Tiger prances around with Zoya and ends up falling for her; just as his colleague Gopi (Ranvir Shorey) had warned him not to.
So what could be the twist in this story? Considering that it’s a YRF product, the rest of the movie has enough romance, action and chase sequences to look forward to. Can Zoya and Tiger make it? Watch the movie for the ultimate twist in the tale.
Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif (Ek Tha Tiger Movie Stills)
Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif (Ek Tha Tiger Movie Stills)
Ek Tha Tiger Review: Script Analysis
Aditya Chopra’s story smartly mixes a spy thriller with a love story which is sort of exciting. Kabir Khan and Neelesh Misra’s script has its share of flaws. The story of the scientist in the first half shows Tiger quite inept as a spy and isn’t even given a proper conclusion. Also, why RAW decides to help their rogue agent Tiger towards the end is up to the viewers to decide. The movie also seems a bit long with the duo on the run most of the time. Dialogues are good and keep a good dose of humour.
Also, you heave a sigh of relief to see a movie that talks about Pakistan and India and doesn’t indulge in jingoism or have a long patriotic tirade about Mera Desh.
Ek Tha Tiger Review: Star Performances
Salman Khan is good as Tiger except that his expressions can seem a bit blank at times. Katrina Kaif is lovely as Zoya and smoothly carries off her bubbly and emotional scenes. Though Ranvir Shorey doesn’t have much screen time as Tiger’s comrade Gopi, he is wonderful in his role. Girish Karnad performs well as Tiger’s boss, Shenoy.
Ek Tha Tiger Review: Direction, Music & Technical Aspects
Kabir Khan’s direction is well done though he does make Salman Khan’s Tiger more superhero than spy. Ek Tha Tiger might seem a bit long in between, but once the action starts, it gets on track. Julius Packiam’s background score is alright. Sohail Sen and Sajid-Wajid’s songs are good. Cinematography by Aseem Mishra is very nice. Rameshwar Bhagat’s editing is good. Visual effects are nice but they seem choppy in some sequences.
Ek Tha Tiger Review: The Last Word
For those asking, yes, Salman Khan does take off his shirt. Salman fans won’t be disappointed by Ek Tha Tiger. For others, it’s a fun watch even though it’s a bit long.
Ek Tha Tiger Trailer
Ek Tha Tiger releases on 15th August 2012.
Check out our Ek Tha Tiger Contest to win exciting gift hampers.
Ek Tha Tiger is Salman Khan's most accomplished works in the recent times says Raja Sen.
The shirt stays on.
So numbed are we by the onslaught of mindless Southern remakes heavy with punchlines and raucous slapstick that an action film where the leading man doesn't lose his shirt automatically feels somewhat special.
That this un-unpeeling of wardrobe happens in a Salman Khan filmamplifies the magnitude of the movie miracle. Over the last few years, Khan has almost singlehandedly -- via winks and jiggling pectorals and flat gags (and invariably record-breaking boxoffice performances- ushered in and legitimised a new level of cinematic mediocrity.
In this new film, Salman Khan discusses the sovereignty of Montenegro. Clearly this is a departure.
And yet, not so much. Director Kabir Khan scales down the ambition as he aims for a safe mainstream middle-ground in his Ek Tha Tiger, a spy-thriller which takes a while to get boiling but eventually crackles along quite effectively. That other Khan -- the one whose name is enough to give distributors orgasms and make trade analysts hunt out new hyperbolic adjectives -- does his bit and does it well. In a film industry which has trouble keeping secret agents anything but laughable, Salman out-Dons Shah Rukh and out-Agents Saif. He's not quite Ethan Hunt, but -- as we see when he hangs nonchalantly from a well-cut blazer on the top of a runaway tram -- he's something all right.
Salman plays India's top bit of intelligence muscle, a RAW agent who jumps around a lot but always lands on his feet, befitting his feline nickname. When not working, which is rare, he shuffles through a frugal, minimalistic life; this is no James Bond, just a guy wearing a OO7 tee when opening the door bleary-eyed for his milkman. Sent on an observatory mission -- boss Girish Karnad specifically requests him to not kill someone again -- the impatient Tiger seeks out action of a different kind, falling for a pretty girl. Except, well, she comes with her own set of rather colossal complications.
The first hour of the film, focussing on Tiger and his girl, is quite a drag. Salman earnestly sticks to his decidedly simplistic brief -- the sort given to stars with the acting chops of, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger -- but things never take off, mostly because Katrina Kaif, who plays his girl, is so darned leaden. It's a immensely unappealing performance, the sort we thought Kat had worked her way up from, and resultantly kills any chance of a chemistry between the pair. Khan tries valiantly, using his most cunning linguistic techniques to get her to say tangri right, but no amount of tongue-ri seems sufficient. The film, relying too heavily on the relationship, loses its footing and, about midway through, even Khan seems like less of a ladykiller than we need him to be. Fake tha Tiger?
Post-interval, however, the film changes gears. We see more of the stuntwoman than we do Katrina, which is a good thing, and even Kaif looks more at ease when sternly kicking a Cuban thug in the nuts than when looking plaintively into Khan's eyes. One well-choreographed stunt follows another, and while the whole thing is shrouded in blockbuster-implausibility, the action keeps things interesting. There is a decent 'what if' idea at the heart of the story, and, thanks to Khan, there's someone to cheer.
Kabir Khan throws in a few deft touches: a fight sequence with nightsticks choreographed like a garba, Indian and Pakistani intelligence agents being visually impossible to tell apart, and a crucial scene underscored by a fleet-fingered orchestra playing the Western Classical equivalent of show-tunes; well-suited, in short, to cross-border Tom and Jerryism. He also relies wisely on a very solid supporting cast, with actors like the ever-excellent Girish Karnad, Roshan Seth and Ranvir Shorey.
It could have been snappier, and the girl could have been much better, but the film should be applauded for giving us a non-sleepwalking Salman, and enough genuine bang for our buck. If only the flame rose higher, but ah well. Tiger tiger burning slight.
