Tag: Salman Khan

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Tiger 3: An Action Spectacle For Fans Of Salman And Spy Movies But This Tiger Doesn’t Pack The Same Punch As War And Pathaan

Emraan Hashmi roars the loudest with his portrayal of the menacing Aatish. Shah Rukh Khan more than makes his presence felt in an extended cameo.

Tiger 3 (Hindi)                 2.5 out of 5            

      • Starcast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi and others; Special appearances (Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan)
      • Director: Maneesh Sharma
      • Story: Aditya Chopra
      • Screenplay: Shridhar Raghavan
      • Dialogues: Anckur Chaudhry
      • Music: Pritam
      • Production Company: Yash Raj Films
      • Genre: Action thriller/drama
      • Running time: 2 hours and 36 minutes

    In the year 2012 the spy journey of Aditya Chopra and YRF began with the Kabir Khan directorial EK Tha Tiger. It was a love story between a RAW and an ISI agent. Ek Tha Tiger was appreciated for its action and also the love story.

    The success of Ek Tha Tiger led to the creation of an entire spy universe like Tiger Zinda Hai, War and Pathaan. Tiger 3 is the fifth film of this universe and there are more to follow.

    Maneesh Sharma the director of Tiger 3 had a huge responsibility on his shoulders as all the previous films of this franchise have gone on to become blockbusters. The director’s last film was Fan. Fan had a gripping first half followed by a lackluster and implausible second half. Viewers could clearly see Maneesh Sharma being overwhelmed by the scale of the film and losing focus. Tiger 3 is another example of Maneesh Sharma’s inability to handle stories of large scale. Tiger 3 is not a bad film but in comparison to War and Pathaan it does fall quite short.

    Emraan Hashmi roars the loudest

    The plot of Tiger 3 focuses on one of Bollywood’s most favorite theme. That is India, Pakistan’s love hate relationship. The mission of Avinash Singh Rathore aka Tiger (Salman Khan) is to prevent a military coup and also the assassination of the Pakistani Prime Minister (Simran modeled on Benazir Bhutto). Tiger’s biggest thorn in the back is a Pakistan agent gone rogue Aatish (Emraan Hashmi).  The biggest desire of Aatish is to take over Pakistan and make sure that no kind of peace happens between both the countries.

    Katrina Kaif also reprises her role of Zee Humaimi aka Zoya from the previous two Tiger films. This time around the character of Zoya has a back-story. In this back-story the viewers get to know that Aatish was her former handler. Once upon a time she was a protégée of Aatish but in the present scenario things have changed drastically.

    Salman Khan gets into his shoes with practised ease

    A big strength of Tiger 3 is the galore of twists and turns at regular intervals. For example in the beginning the viewers are led to believe that Zoya is betraying Tiger by hiding certain information. These twists and turns do keep the viewers on their feet.

    Cinematographer Anay Goswamy also does a wonderful job in capturing the many locations of this globe trotter. These include Europe, Russia and Istanbul among others.

    The action sequences have plenty of hand to hand combats and are a definite treat for those who like to see raw action. Two action scenes deserve a particular mention. One is the climax fight between Salman and Emraan Hashmi. The other one is Katrina fighting in a towel inside a Turkish hammam or bath. Both these sequences have been brilliantly shot.

    Katrina Kaif in her towel fight scenes

    As mentioned in the beginning Emraan Hashmi shines the brightest in this cast. His demeanor and the body language are a treat to watch. Emraan plays the ruthless villain without missing a single beat. A special mention must be made of the scenes that Emraan shares with Katrina in the flashback portions.

    One of the most enjoyable portions of Tiger 3 is definitely Shah Rukh Khan’s extended cameo as Pathaan. It is a perfect mixture of action and some very witty dialogues. Viewers can clearly see that Shah Rukh is having a blast. In one of the scenes you have Shah Rukh Khan and Salman in a Sholay inspired motorcycle scene. Pathaan is in the driver’s seat and Tiger makes a joke about how the last time this vehicle was driven only one person came out alive. There is also a post credit scene involving Hrithik Roshan’s Kabir from War. The scene doesn’t last long but Hrithik’s swagger is unmissable.

    A big problem with Tiger 3 is the overtly simplistic treatment of the issues between India and Pakistan. Director Maneesh Sharma doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the Indo-Pak angle. Tiger 3 operates in a fanciful zone of two rival nations hoping to initiate peace talks and end the fear of war. But these noble intentions do not translate effectively on screen.

    Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, a camio scene

    The love story between Tiger and Zoya is in the same space as in the previous two films. There is no substantial character development in spite of Zoya’s back-story.

    Both Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif get into the shoes of their respective characters with practiced ease. As said earlier Katrina shines in the action sequences but her performance in the emotional ones leave a lot to be desired.

    Some of the supporting cast from Tiger 1 and 2 are seen in this film as well. They include Ranvir Shorey and Kumud Mishra among others but they are reduced to side dishes. Revathi as the boss takes over from the late Girish Karnad. Unfortunately the senior actress has been severely underutilized. This is sad because Dimple Kapadia in Pathaan made a terrific boss woman.

    Pritam’s music consists of only one good number and that is Ruaan. Pritam’s tune coupled with Arjit Singh’s voice makes it a good hear and watch.  

    To sum it up Tiger 3 is a step back for the spy universe but here’s hoping that War 2 and others bring it back on track. 

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    Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan: A Tent-Pole Commercial Entertainer That Celebrates Salman Khan’s Larger-Than-Life Persona

    Director Farhad Samji’s film is more of Salman’s version of ‘2 States’ and Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Chennai Express’.

    An Eid gift for Salman fans!
    Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (Hindi)
    • Cast:Salman Khan, Venkatesh, Pooja Hedge, Jagapathi Babu, Bhumika Chawla, Raghav Juyal, Jassie Gil, Siddharth Nigam, Shehnaaz Gil, Palak Tiwari, and Bhagyashree
    • Writer-Director: Farhad Samji
    • Producer: Salma Khan
    • Music: Ravi Basrur (background score), Himesh Reshammiya, Sukhbir Singh, Devi Sri Prasad, Sajid Khan, Payal Dev, and Amaal Mallik
    • RunTime 2 hours 24 minutes

    Irrespective of their quality, several South films have been remade into Hindi in the recent past. A certain fatigue has set in which is evident in the way most of these remakes have fared.

    Of course, Ajay Devgan’s Drishyam 2 was a huge blockbuster. But by and large, remakes have fallen flat on their face.

    For those who are not aware, Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (Someone’s Brother, Someone’s Lover) is based on director Shiva’s Tamil film Veeram (Valour, 2014) starring Ajith and Tamannaah.

    Veeram majorly worked because of Ajith’s charisma. It was also remade into Telugu as Katamarayudu (2017) with Pawan Kalyan. However, the Telugu version flopped big time.

    Now, the film has been remade into Hindi. Though the trailer of Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan didn’t receive a great response, there was certain optimism as it is an Eid release.

    The inclusion of the Telugu actors Venkatesh and Jagapathi Babu added a certain curiosity to it.

    There are few films where the overall product turns out to be better than the first glimpse, and this one falls in that category.

    Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan isn’t an outstanding cinema but is largely enjoyable. In a way, it can be called Salman Khan’s version of 2 States (2014) and Shah Rukh Khan’s Chennai Express (2013).

    Plot

    Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan revolves around Bhaijaan (Salman Khan). He lives in Delhi with his brothers Luv (Siddarth Nigam), Ishq (Raghav Juyal) and Moh (Jassie Gill). They are not blood brothers but the bond between them is strong.

    In a way, they are small-time mafia using violence to settle disputes in their locality. Luv, Ishq and Moh have girlfriends. But there is a problem — Bhaijaan is unmarried and he feels that the entry of a girl into their lives will ruin their bond.

    Late Satish Kaushik plays a father figure to all four men. He plays his part with a lot of warmth and is a delight to watch.

    Bhagyalaxmi (Pooja Hedge), an Andhra girl, lands in the same locality where Bhaijaan and his three brothers live, for research on antiques. She falls for Bhaijaan and soon, love blooms between the two.

    Balakrishna Gundamaneni (Venkatesh) is the peace-loving elder brother of Bhagyalaxmi, or at least that is the impression we get in the beginning.

    Two major villains get in the way of Bhaijaan getting his happy ending:  one is boxer-turned-actor Mahvir (Vijender Singh and the other is Nageshwar (Jagapati Babu).

    Mahvir, like a typical real estate villain, wants to take over the basti where Bhaijaan lives.

    On the other hand, Nageshwar has a major grouse with Balakrishna Gundamaneni. This is the story in a nutshell.

    Characterisation

    Director Farhad Samji wastes no time in establishing the larger-than-life persona of Salman Khan. The actor makes a dashing entry and the dialogue is filled with punch lines. Not all punch lines work but still, there is some joy to be had.

    The camaraderie between the four brothers is established well. As viewers, you do root for them.

    However, there is one major bump — the characters of the girlfriends. None of them stands out except for Pooja Hegde. Things get better with her entry.

    Pooja is quite good in her chirpy role. She does come across as too animated in the initial portions, still her character Bhagyalaxmi is good to watch. This is easily Pooja’s best performance in a Hindi film so far.

    The fight sequence in the Delhi Metro train – when Bhagyalaxmi learns how violent her boyfriend is — sets the stage for an engaging second half.

    Venkatesh as the elder brother has a powerful presence that uplifts the second half considerably. His scenes with Salman are a delight to watch. Venkatesh also has his mass moments and the actor packs a strong punch.

    Director Farhad Samji needs to be credited for not presenting the south Indianness of Balakrishna in a caricaturist way.

    The dialogues are a mix of Telugu and Hindi and don’t come across as jarring at any point. Not surprisingly, Jagapati Babu as Nageswar fares much better than Vijender Singh. The reason is Jagapati Babu has mostly done negative roles in his second innings.

    Bhaijaan Salman mostly plays to the gallery. However, he does shine in some of the emotional moments with the brothers. There are also hugely enjoyable Meta references. One of these is the scene involving his Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) co-star Bhagyashree.

    Music

    The songs composed by Ravi Basur, and Himesh Reshammiya & Co go with the vibe of Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan.

    The songs “Yentamma” and “Naiyo Lagda” stand out. The presence of Ramcharan dancing with Salman and Venkatesh makes “Yentamma” more fun to watch.

    There is also a dialogue where Ramcharan says that “Ram has come to attend Bhaijaan’s wedding”. This does crack the viewers up.

    The trio of Jassie Gill, Siddarth Nigam and Raghav Juyal do a fine job in their limited screen time. However, as earlier said the girlfriends are one big minus point of the film.

    For Salman Khan’s fans, this can be easily overlooked.

    Verdict

    Kisi Ki Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan isn’t high on the story but there is enough to enjoy in this “North meets South” if you don’t analyse too much.

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    Antim: More Than Just Another Salman Khan Film

    Mahesh Manjrekar’s Antim is a sincere attempt at confronting the socio-political issues like land grabbing among other things. For those who are not aware, Antim is based on the critically acclaimed Marathi film Mulshi Pattern. The director takes the core of that plot and gives it a Bollywood treatment. The best example of this is Salman Khan’s Rajveer Singh. It is not a full fledged role but Mahesh gives ample masala moments which will satisfy Salman fans. There is also a shirtless action sequence  between Salman Khan and Ayush Sharma. The burden of Antim, though, eventually falls on the shoulders of Ayush Sharma. After a disastrous debut in Loveyatri the actor makes a solid comeback with this one. It is a character with lot of shades and Ayush is successful in bringing out those nuances. Some rawness is still there but the growth is very visible.

    The basic premise of Antim is farmers losing their land to mafias. Sakharam played by Sachin Kundelkar is one such farmer. He has sold his land and is now working as a watchman in the house of one such person Shinde. His son Rahul (Ayush Sharma) had only studied until eighth class. He doesn’t do any job. One day a situation comes when Sakharam is humiliated by the owners for no fault of his. His son Rahul gets enraged at how his father has been treated. After that Sakharam loses his job and the entire family is forced to migrate to Mumbai market yard. It is here that Rahul’s journey as a gangster begins.  Before leaving for Mumbai Rahul vows to take the land back from Shinde, he also threatens Shinde that he would humiliate him.

    Ironically though once he becomes a gangster he joins hands with the same mafia and helps them in grabbing farmers’ lands. During one such incident he guns down the teacher who had taught him in school. Not surprisingly Sakharam isn’t happy with his son and as a result the relations are strained. Along with Sachin Kundelkar the supporting cast also comprises the likes of Jisshu Sengupta.

    What really works for Antim is Mahesh Manjrekar understanding of the socio-political issues. The farmer’s plight isn’t something particularly new but the director makes you empathize with his treatment. Sachin Kundelkar’s character particularly stands out in the supporting cast. The director makes a strong statement on farmers being forced to work as labourers in their own land. There is also a commentary on the rise of multinationals and power hungry politicians. All these issues are smartly integrated in the narrative.

    The location of Mumbai Market yard plays a significant role in the script. It is used as a metaphor to talk about the journey of Rahul.  The ending makes you emotional in spite of the Nayakan hangover.

    The scenes between Rahul and Sakharam give the film some of its best moments. Rahul’s desperation of wanting his family back is sure to touch a chord.

    Salman’s Rajveer Singh is also smartly used by the director. Rajveer is also a son of a farmer who has lost his land. Just like Rahul’s family they also had to migrate. However, unlike Rahul Rajveer becomes a cop.

    The scenes between Salman and Ayush are also fun to watch as it is not your usual cat and mouse game between a good cop and the bad guy.

    What pull Antim down are its brutal action scenes. The action scenes could have been easily trimmed. Also the majority of the supporting cast act as mere screen fillers than anything else. Jisshu Sengupta in particular is very annoying in his role. Sachin Kundelkar is easily the best of the lot. He brings in varied emotions with his character. Salman Khan comes second with his restrained performance. Mahima Makhwana is the only predominant female character in this male universe. Mahima is quite impressive in her role. The music is also something which could have been much better. The songs come across as speed breakers. Even the Ganapati one featuring Varun Dhawan doesn’t really work. The only song which works to an extent is the romantic one featuring Ayush and debutant Mahima Makwana. The length is another lag. It needed sharper editing.

    Watch Antim for Ayush Sharma’s transformation and the farmer’s issues.