Wanted, Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard and now, Ek Tha Tiger – the failsafe formula appears as enduring as Salman’s eponymous secret agent who scours the world in search of enemies of the nation and dispatches them to the devil without breaking into a sweat.
Tiger (Salman Khan) is an Indian intelligence officer who's sent by RAW to Dublin to keep an eye on a science professor. There he comes across Zoya (Katrina Kaif) and expectedly falls for her. Until it turns out that even Zoya is on an undercover mission. Now Tiger has to choose between duty and love.
Aditya Chopra sketches his story on the unusual premise of what would happen if an Indian intelligence officer falls in love with a Pakistani spy. The conflicts in the love story come quite naturally through the animosity between the two neighbouring nations, prevalent for decades. On a broader level the film implies how love can overpower all inherent differences. Yet it never makes a very conscious attempt to sound preachy or positive about the state-of-affairs between the countries. Chopra's story is credibly crafted into a riveting screenplay by Neelesh Misra and Kabir Khan.
At first instance, it seems like the love story is barging in the spy-drama. Until you realize that Ek Tha Tiger, largely, is a love story on the backdrop of an espionage thriller and not the other way round. Once we realize that, the romance track is never a hindrance. Rather the Indo-Pak spy couple lends the love story its uniqueness. Nevertheless there is no compromise on the spy setup of the film either. Director Kabir Khan commendably balances the love story and the spy drama, with each element taking precedence at different junctures in the film as per the requirement.
The beauty of the film is that, though the protagonist goes against his establishment for a girl from a rival country, you still root for him. Their integrity towards each other makes you overlook the fact that the two spies went rogue. Thereby Ek Tha Tiger is more of a rooted romance tale over a mechanical spy-thriller.
Salman Khan carries an urbane charm and looks uber-cool dressed in formals. He is resourcefully restrained sans his customary buffoonery. His acting ability is best exploited in this film after a long long time. Katrina Kaif is gorgeous as always and puts in a confident act. Her agility in action sequences adds to her conviction. And more importantly she shares terrific chemistry with Salman Khan, something that was missing in all their earlier pairings. Ranvir Shorey as Salman's associate makes for a good supporting cast. Girish Karnad and Gavie Chahal lend decent support.
Ek Tha Tiger, by far, is Salman Khan's most entertaining and accomplished works in recent times. Hope he takes the correct cues from this film and stays away from mediocrity henceforth.
Verdict: Very Good
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