Tiger 3

<p>In , October 1999, a teenage witnesses her father, agent Rehan Nazar, die in a car bomb blast. After his funeral, Zoya is visited by Nazar’s protege Aatish Rehman, who persuades her to join the . In the present day, is assigned by his late former boss Shenoy’s successor, chief Maithili Menon, to rescue Tiger’s former aid, Gopi Arya, who was captured during a mission in while trying to extract information from the about a mission being planned in . Following his rescue, Gopi reveals to Tiger that Zoya is a double agent working for the Pakistanis, and is involved in the mission, before succumbing to his injuries. Tiger begins to spy on Zoya and is later assigned by Menon to safeguard an arms supplier, Jibran Sheikh in , who worked with Gopi and escaped to the country after being discovered in Pakistan. Tiger witnesses Zoya’s attempt to assassinate Sheikh; after saving him, Tiger is captured by Aatish, who reveals that he forced Zoya to assassinate Sheikh by near-fatally drugging and kidnapping her and Tiger’s son Junior. In a flashback, twelve years prior, in 2011, one year before the events of , Aatish sought to derail a between India and Pakistan in by assassinating the , General Ribeiro. Aatish tasked Zoya with the job, but she refused to cooperate and uses the telephone to covertly make the Indian consulate eavesdrop, where, unknown to her, the call was received by Tiger, who didn’t know her back then. Aatish’s pregnant wife Shaheen Baig decided to assassinate the general herself, but was shot and killed by Tiger. Aatish denied that his agents knew about the plan, leading to his imprisonment and ousting from the . Tiger recruits a team comprising Rakesh and Karan from his last known mission, the two of them being accompanied by newbie Nikhil, to steal a for Aatish, containing missile launch codes in in exchange for Junior. However, Aatish has Tiger and Zoya framed as traitors by their respective countries, despite releasing Junior, leading to Tiger’s imprisonment at a in . Tiger is , but manages to escape with the help of . He hides in and meets his adopted son Hassan. Tiger’s team, Zoya and ISI agents Abrar and Javed return to , where they learn that Aatish and Imtiaz Haq, the of , are planning to assassinate the Nasreen Irani in order for Aatish to replace her. Seeking to save Irani, Tiger, Zoya and their team secretly enter Pakistan’s and expose Aatish’s plan to Irani. Tiger and Zoya escort Irani to an underground bunker of and Tiger forces General Haq to publicly reveal the plan. However, Aatish secretly kills General Haq with the help of Javed, who shockingly betrays Karan and Abrar by killing them. After they locate Irani, Hassan sacrifices himself, allowing Tiger and Zoya to help Irani escape; in the process, Tiger reveals to Aatish he knew about Javed’s defection, having discovered his identity as Shaheen’s brother. Zoya avenges Abrar and Karan’s deaths by killing Javed. A fight ensues between Tiger and Aatish, ending with Tiger killing Aatish. Irani exposes Aatish’s plot to the public. Tiger, Zoya and their team are proven innocent. Tiger contacts Menon and assures her that he will always be there to serve his country. In the , Sunil Luthra contacts and assigns him to assassinate an unidentified enemy. In early 2020, it was reported that a sequel to (2017) was in development, with and reprising their roles. In late 2020, was roped in to direct the film, taking over from who directed the previous installment. On 4 March 2022, the project was announced by Yash Raj Films through an announcement video. Shanoo Sharma was the film’s . Khan and Kaif were confirmed to be reprising their roles as Tiger and Zoya respectively, with cast as the , in February 2021. was announced to return to the franchise, following his absence in . joined the cast in October 2021, while and were cast a month later. and reprised their roles as and , in cameo appearances respectively. began in the third week of March 2021, in and . A customary was held on 26 February 2021 at in Mumbai. Filming then took place in , including , and , while a car chase sequence was shot in in August 2021. Additional scenes were filmed in ( , and ) in September 2021. Filming resumed in India by February 2022, in , and further action sequences were filmed at Mumbai in April 2023. Shah Rukh Khan’s cameo was filmed within a 10-day schedule in , where a large set was constructed for an action sequence. Roshan’s cameo was directed by , the director of . The entire filming was wrapped by May 2023. The film’s soundtrack was composed by , with lyrics written by and . The background score was composed by Tanuj Tiku. The album was preceded by two singles—”Leke Prabhu Ka Naam” and “Ruaan” —and was released under the label on 28 October 2023. A teaser titled “Tiger Ka Message” was released on 27 September 2023. The official trailer was released on 16 October 2023. was initially scheduled to be released on 21 April 2023 to coincide with . It was then postponed to 12 November 2023 and was released across 8900 screens worldwide in Hindi with dubbed versions in Tamil and Telugu, coinciding with . The film was banned in , and due to its negative depiction of Islamic countries. The film began streaming on from 7 January 2024 and premiered on on 16 March 2024 at 8:00 pm and was re-telecasted on 17 March 2024 at 12:00 pm. As of 15 December 2023 grossed over (US$41 million) in India and (US$14 million) in overseas markets for a worldwide total of over (US$55 million). The film set the record for the highest opening day on for a Hindi language film grossing (US$11 million), including (US$920,000) from paid previews in . The film’s Hindi version netted a record-breaking (US$5.1 million) in India, with a further (US$180,000) from its dubbed Tamil and Telugu versions, for a net total of (US$5.3 million). It had the biggest global opening weekend for both Khan and Kaif. On the website , 55% of 22 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.0/10. received mixed reviews from critics and audiences with praise for its action sequences, technical aspects and cast performances (particularly Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi), but criticism for its plot and pace. of gave 4/5 stars and wrote “Tiger 3 is the biggest dhamaka you can expect this Diwali” praised the second half and performances of Khan, Kaif and Hashmi and appreciated the cameo of Shahrukh Khan. Himesh Mankad of gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote ” rides hugely mounted action sequences backed with power performances by Khan, Kaif and Hashmi. While pacing is an issue at some places, the core plot has enough of an emotional connect to keep you glued on the big screen. The film is an action-packed entertainer that has all the ingredients to emerge as Khan’s highest grosser till date.” Sonil Dedhia of gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote ” has some excellent action sequences featuring Khan and Kaif. Hashmi does justice to his role as an antagonist. There are many sweet-worthy moments in including the cameos (which is known by everyone). Khan fans are in for a treat this Diwali.” Vinamra Mathur of gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote “Khan and Kaif submit themselves to the action of with full gusto. The film looks stylish, slick, but little overlong. Only if it had more thrills and tension and less talking.” Ronak Kotecha of gave 3/5 stars and wrote ” qualifies as a good addition to the franchise with enough ammo for mass entertainment.” Zinia Bandyopadhyay of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Despite an overcrowded spy universe, manages to hold his own ground. Khan fans won’t be disappointed, but someone give Kaif a Zoya series pronto!” of gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote “All the technical razzmatazz would have come to naught without the presence of a star or two who can add lustre, if only of a superficial kind, to the exercise.” of gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote “Khan is looking his age, but the good thing is that he isn’t hiding it. And of course, the best part of the film is when a.k.a. Shah Rukh Khan comes flying into the horizon with his hair still in that sexy man-bun and shooting smart one-liners.” Sukanya Verma of gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote “Too bad the one time it is friendly to the environment, Tiger chooses to celebrate his Diwali with ‘meetha’ and not ‘pathaaka’.” Monika Rawal Kukreja of wrote ” is massy, masala and a must-watch not because it’s a masterpiece, but because it’s not every day you see two superstars sharing screen space even if that’s for a little while. Sharma as director packs all the elements in a manner that it makes for an intriguing watch. While the story and broad plot is quite intricate and complex with a new twist and turn waiting to unfold every few minutes, what remains problematic is the inconsistent pace.” Pratikshya Mishra of wrote ” is one of those films that didn’t need to have relied on pure action – the love story between Tiger and Zoya is the franchise’s main attraction. Instead, focuses on a heady mix of a saviour complex and exposition. Despite new additions to the roster and older, familiar faces returning to the mix, just doesn’t have the thrill and chutzpah required to make the story work.</p>