Ek Tha Tiger Movie Review

by TopShot_Ek Tha Tiger

Story- Story of the film is not a path breaking instead its very simple and straight forward. The best agent of a secret service falls in love with a girl and wants to run away from his spy life.

Execution- All praise should go to Kabir Khan for this. Story like ETT, though looks simple on a paper, is harder to execute in front of camera. The key part in a screenplay is always going to be the love story part and success of the screenplay going to be hinged upon the way Kabir blends love story in an action film. (And to be honest I was little skeptical about this part) But oh boy! Kabir has handled this key part extremely well.  Agent-meets-a girl-falls-in-love part is handled in an entertaining fashion and quite briefly without compromising the pace of the story.

Action Scenes- Mindblowing!!! Never seen before in a Hindi film. And on par with Hollywood films.  Pure treat for action lovers.

Music- Well, everybody knows about this as music is out for a month now. Film has 3 songs in a running time and mashallah song is shown with end credits. All 3 songs are quite well placed. On special note- Julies Packiam’s superb tiger theme plays in a background throughout the movie.

Performances- Supporting actors especially Ranvir, does a commendable job.

Katrina Kaif- She is a Beauty Goddess, divine beauty, sent on earth to kill men like us by her look. But this was expected since the mashallah song  teaser. But what surprised me is how much screen presence she’s got in an action scenes and how well she has performed the action sequences.

Salman Khan- What can I say about salman. I went to theater just to watch him. And he did not disappoint me. He is truly a tiger, THE TIGER.

Negatives- ummm.. It Ends? But on a serious note, if I dig up deep then I think Climax kinda ends abruptly. Make no mistake, Climax is awesome but end of it kinda seems abrupt.(at least to me.)

Box Office – Huge by any means. And if majority of audience is like me then Sky is the Limit…

http://www.naachgaana.com/2012/08/15/ek-tha-tiger-review-tiger-tiger-tiger-kahani-blockbuster-hai/

Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif With Komal Nahta

Making of the song - Mashallah (Ek tha Tiger)

The Front Row with Anupama Chopra - 10th August 2012

Salman Khan can get Ek Tha Tiger a great opening but after that it's just me: Kabir Khan

Director Kabir Khan is a fantastic storyteller, and we say this without even watching his forthcoming Eid attraction, Ek Tha Tiger. As a documentary filmmaker early in his career, he has picked up many of his personal experiences and has a huge bank of stories that he is waiting to tell. He is not particularly happy about the hype that his film has generated. In a candid conversation, he spoke about his penchant for making realistic films, the falsely reported 'issues' that he had with Salman Khan and how comfortable he is at Yash Raj Films.

Are you happy about the hype that Ek Tha Tiger has generated?
I am not really a numbers' guy, but it feels good that the film is one of the most awaited films of the year. I am very happy the way the film has shaped up, and I have to say that it has gone beyond me now. It has become a beast of its own. What worries me is that even if the film makes Rs 180cr, I will get condolence messages saying that it fell short by Rs 20cr to make Rs 200cr. (Laughs) Salman can get me a great opening at the box office no doubt, but after that it is just me and the film that I have made. I have a feeling that the film will have a long run at the theatres.

Were Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif your first choices, as the leading pair?
Yes, me and Salman go back a long way. I had met him once via a common friend, to narrate the script of Kabul Express. Not that I wanted to cast him in it. It was a general conversation over coffee and he seemed to like my narration. After that meeting I hardly met him, perhaps once after Kabul Express released. I wanted to cast Katrina Kaif in my next film, New York. She was skeptical about doing the film, as it was her first outing with Yash Raj Films and it wasn't the typical films that they made.

She had consulted Salman about signing the film. Salman asked her, who was directing it? She said, "Kabir Khan," and he said, "If he is directing it, you can sign the film without a second thought." So there was certain warmth that I shared with Salman, even before approaching him for Ek Tha Tiger. Also, if you call any other guy in Bollywood a 'tiger', it sounds very cheesy. But with Salman, you can be sure that woh sab ka baap hai (he is bigger than anybody else).

With Salman on board, I didn't have to spend much time establishing that he is a tiger. Just five minutes into the film, and you will realize that woh sab ka baap hai (he is bigger than anybody else). A film like ETT needed a legendary star like Salman to do justice to the spy that the film is loosely based upon. He would have been overcast for a film like Kabul Express, but Ek Tha Tiger needed Salman.


was reported that you had 'issues' with Salman's interference?
I think that if there are no issues in any creative outing, there is something wrong with the project. Either the actors are doing the film for the wrong reasons, or the film is really bad. If the actor doesn't have any inputs to give during the shooting, you are in trouble. We had our share of issues, but that was during the first fifteen days of the shoot. Salman had his own vision and I had mine, and it took us time to be on the same page. When I told him to do a scene in a certain way, he would ask why not this way? Gradually we did understand each other's vision of the film.

Nobody can be a cult superstar like Salman without having a grip on what works for his fans. He has been around for about 25 years and he knows what his fans expect from him. I am a collaborative filmmaker and I take suggestions from everyone. Not just from Salman, I am open to feedback from all my assistants too! Because I had written the film and stayed with it for the longest time, it is difficult to be objective about it. What makes perfect sense to me might go right over the heads of others. There are many gems in the film that have been contributed by Salman.


I must say that Salman can really endure pain. There are people with similar problem who commit suicide because they can't tolerate the pain caused because of the nerve disorder. When we were shooting one of the earliest sequences, in the film he was supposed to be back from a gruelling mission and we had to show that he was all beaten up. At that time, it worked for us and we got some real expressions of him being in pain. But post that he went for the surgery after which he didnt't experience any pain.

The action sequences of Ek Tha Tiger look very real...
My brief to the action director was that there shouldn't be any cables involved in the fight scenes. Usually there are 'item action scenes' in films where the hero is beating up the baddies for about five minutes. It doesn't really take the story forward. In ETT, even the fight sequences are a part of the narrative. The cables haven't been used to show Salman and the stuntmen doing a ballet mid air. The cables have only been used to protect them from falling down and injuring themselves. In the trailer you will see Salman jumping off the roof of a house and landing on the ground. He has done it himself, like he usually prefers doing. It is very taxing on the body and we went easy on the action bit after a while. But yes, the action scenes in ETT are something that have not been seen before in our films.


We heard that the Film will not be released in Pakistan...
That is something I do not have any say over. There are a few theatres in Pakistan that are waiting to open with Ek Tha Tiger. Salman is a mega star in Pakistan, and the owners of those theatres are really counting on the film, so that they do a good opening business. Even if ETT doesn't release there, people will eventually watch it on pirated DVDs that would be of a very bad quality. There is still some time before the film releases there and I hope that the censors will see that I am not defaming their country.

Is Ek Tha Tiger in the league of the other Salman films that released recently?
A lot of research has gone into the making of ETT, but on the surface it is an entertaining love/thriller story. If the audience can see through the layers and see the message, well and good. But, even if they don't they will go back happy. With  Ek Tha Tiger, we have tried to attract the section of the audience that is not really a loyal Salman Khan fan. It would be too pompous of me to say that I have even a fraction of following that Salman has, but the attempt has been to bring into the theatres even those people who are fence-sitters; the kind who wait to watch the trailers or reviews before they decide to pay to watch a film.

Will you be open to directing films for other production houses as well?
Yash Raj Films is like home for me now. Aditya Chopra trusted me when nobody else did. I had gone to almost every production house with my script of Kabul Express. They read the script and said that they liked it, but nobody was willing to invest their money in it. A few people told me there is no point in even going to YRF with my film. But Adi read the script and told me that he loved it.

He has backed me all the way, and has let me make my films the way I wanted to. At YRF I feel like I am cocooned, it has become my comfort zone. Now that I am through with my contract here, I might do a film for some other producer. After which I might make another one with YRF. As much as I like to make films with YRF, I am open to directing films for other production houses as well.

The Tiger Song - Ek Tha Tiger

Ek Tha Tiger Comic Teaser - Saving The High Seas

"Ek Tha Tiger is one notch higher than what I've done before" - Salman Khan

It has been, Salman Khan agrees, a tumultuous time for the actor tipped to be the Tiger raring to roar at the box office come August 15. A few hours before I am due to interview Khan, I post the following on Twitter - 'Can't get any better. Meeting the TIGER this evening for half an hour. It's gonna be an epic Q n A'. In the next six hours my interactions on the social networking site were intoxicating. I had to bow down to them and admit that Salman Khan is unarguably a superstar. My perception proved faulty. I enter the gates of Mehboob Studios and head to Studio No. 5 where the Tiger was seated - like a king - head held high, a bit of attitude and persuasive. The surprise upon meeting Salman is his gentleness. Then in a few minutes, he goes beyond politeness - wacky, often smiles at himself and a bit sarcastic; the qualities that aptly describe a superstar. With his brooding charisma the Tiger shakes my hand. He is dressed in sombre casuals - denims and his Being Human t-shirt. Full of grit, spit and courage, Ek Tha Tiger is pitted as a film that'll leave you open-mouthed or as Salim Khan describes it - "This is a landmark film for Salman Khan". Ok, enough said! I'll let the Tiger growl. Presenting you the Tiger and his tales. 

Ek Tha Tiger is a genre so rare that you've hardly tapped into? 
Ek Tha Tiger isn't any different genre for me. It's the same genre. It's got love story, it's got action, it's got humour, it's about how much a guy can do for his love and for his country. Out here, we've pushed it to a different level. Your last film has to be a better than your previous one. For me, Ek Tha Tiger is one notch higher than what I've done before. 

So, tell me more about the Tiger…
Tiger is the most loyal man you can meet. He is to be trusted. Tiger is more like a chameleon, I should say because he keeps on changing his colours. Sometimes he becomes a writer, sometimes a fighter or sometimes a lover. And with so much you know about Tiger, he still remains unpredictable. 

You've got the biggest opening in the form of Bodyguard. With movies now becoming business, what are your hopes from Ek Tha Tiger? 
The fact that the theatres are growing, the business is growing, the audiences are growing, and the fact that we are still not able to break the record of 3 Idiots is not a good sign my friend. Records have to be broken. I will break it or let Aamir break it, who cares but since three years, no film has surpassed that film. It's shameful. 


What was your first interaction with Kabir Khan like? 
A friend of mine introduced me to Kabir Khan. He came with a DVD of some portions of a shoot he had done in Afghanistan. Then Adi Chopra sent him to me with Ek Tha Tiger. I have not seen Kabul Express and New York but after seeing what he had shown me from that DVD I could tell that this man can make a kick-a** film. Kabir is a mature human being, sensible and cultured with a great sense of humour and a bit naughty. I heard so many things about Kabir from the sources that he makes logical films, I got a bit uncomfortable at times hearing that but the more time I spent with him, I got to know he was a cool guy. 

You make your debut with YRF. That came late, didn't it? 
Yes, it did but it came at the right time. Ek Tha Tiger is written with a positive mind and there was no chauvinism. It's a movie without any political statements and we aren't getting into countries and are heading towards a simple and spicy love story. How much a trained man can do is what this movie is showing you. Ek Tha Tiger is in that real space and every frame will make it look believable. Such is the work put in by Kabir Khan. Things have turned out right for this film. Me and Yash Raj coming together, Kabir directing it, Katrina being my leading lady. Adi has given his best in Ek Tha Tiger. I should say that Kabir's whole career is riding on this film. Everyone is enthusiastic. 

Your father's been associated with YRF films before. 
Yes he has. When I signed this film, my father told me that he has had a great working relationship with YRF and when I finish shooting Ek Tha Tiger, they will feel the same. Aditya Chopra has a very commercial mind. He doesn't think larger than life. He keeps it normal. Kabir's thinking, Aditya's thinking and my thinking comes together in making Ek Tha Tiger. I feel Adi is a mix of both of us - Me and Kabir. 

Your penchant for writing films, what's happening with that? 
Yes, I want to write films but not right now. I know Veer didn't work at the box office but as of now I am happy doing all the love-action genre. I am enjoying myself and I am at my career's highest point. Writing will happen eventually. I like the action genre and it's difficult to do action, trust me. 


You love kicking a** isn't it? What kind of films do we expect from you next? 
All action, that's it! That's what you expect from Salman Khan. There has to be so much safety and out here we really don't care. I would love to do something like The Expendables in India. Make an action film with the top action heroes - Sanjay Dutt, Suneil Shetty, Ajay Devgn and me, of course (laughs). You can tell one thing from the new Expendables 2 that's coming out that these guys had a blast. I rather do such kind of films. I am not here to prove a point. 

You and Katrina Kaif. Again. It's difficult to frame a question. 
Oh is it? Ok, I will make it simple for you. Katrina is the hardest working person I've known in the industry. As far as her diction is concerned, from her first film to her last, she has worked hard on it. She speaks with a bit of accent but I guess everyone in India too puts on a fake accent now-a-days (laughs). Anyway, she speaks Hindi fluently now. 

'Mashallah' is the new chartbuster track. Shaking a leg is easy for you it seems. 
Someone said that Salman Khan looks stiff in the song. Boss, I've made a stiff style for Tiger. He dances like that. He is different. Ab jaise crumping hai....thumping bhi toh hai! Tough men don't dance but Tiger does it. He does it in style and with easy steps so that the entire nation can follow him. I don't spin on my head because no one will be able to copy that.  


http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/3784 

Ek Tha Tiger Wallpaper & Posters