Salman's devil-may-care attitude as Tiger looks super cool and he lights up the screen in a way that only he can. But his surprisingly poignant turn is what got Mayur Sanap really excited.
The YRF Spy Universe just got more exciting as the OG super-spy Salman Khan returns in the third installment of Tiger series which kicked off with Director Kabir Khan's Ek Tha Tiger in 2012.
Tiger 3 is helmed by Maneesh Sharma, whose filmography includes the breezy Band Baaja Baarat (2012) and the lacklustre Fan (2016), and the opening slate reveals the film is set after the events of Tiger Zinda Hai, War and Pathaan.
We see Tiger AKA Avinash Singh Rathore living a happy life with his wife and fellow spy Zoya (Katrina Kaif) and their son.
The ghost from Tiger's past appears in Emraan Hashmi, who threatens to muck up what's dearest to him: 'biwi ka pyaar' and 'bacche ki khushi'.
This sets the stage for an action-packed drama and teeter-totter of emotions as Tiger goes all out to protect his family.
The story, written by Aditya Chopra with screenplay with Sridhar Raghavan, has shades of Skyfall and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, and the formula that Tiger 3 follows is rather simple: A straightforward tale of good guy versus bad guy, all centred on the macho swagger of its lead star.
What's new is how the mission turns personal for Tiger which brings out his never-seen-before vulnerable side.
Salman's devil-may-care attitude as Tiger looks super cool and he lights up the screen in a way that only he can. But his surprisingly poignant turn is what got me really excited.
As he muses as in the end: 'Jab tak Tiger mara nahi, tab tak Tiger haara nahi.'
You automatically hope to see the actor in an emotionally truthful role which we haven't seen him in a long time.
Katrina works well with her expressions while giving the bad guys a beating in some terrific action moments.
Equally exciting is the clever casting of Hashmi. With that withering smirk in the closing shot, he shows a great promise as the film's wicked villain.
The trailer packs a punch with its enthralling visuals and action set-pieces but I am also curious about a few things.
Will the other members of this universe, mainly Hrithik Roshan and Shah Rukh Khan, show up in the film?
Will the makers introduce a female spy in this film?
More importantly, are we going to get a true-blue Salman Khan moment with his shirtless avatar?
We will find out on Sunday, November 12.
