Eid 2012. Tiger was introduced to the audience in the form of Ek Tha Tiger. As expected, the nation went frenzy and the movie was a runaway hit. Christmas 2017. Tiger returns in the form of Tiger Zinda Hai. While the trailer looked very impressive, will this ‘Tiger’ roar like its predecessor….lets find out.

Tiger Zinda Hai, in an eight year leap(story-wise) follows the story of Tiger and Zoya on a new mission but this time the arena is different. And so is the enemy, till Tiger takes over! The story is a good one, although if you are looking for some logic, you ain’t finding one. The screenplay is inconsistent at various places but is largely overpowered by its lead. Again, no one is complaining(atleast not me!). The dialogues are good, although a few were lost amidst the claps and whistles. With an electrifying atmosphere in the theatre, there was nothing to complain. The music is good with ‘Swag se Swagat’ standing out. Ali Abbas Zafar, who last directed the much polished ‘Sultan’, is once again in good form. His direction is quite good. A special mention of the action sequences which are absolutely on point.

Katrina Kaif as Zoya definitely kicks some ass in the action scenes and overall is decent. Sajjad Delafrooz as the main villain, Abu Usman is wonderfully restrained in his performance. Paresh Rawal in a cameo adds to the humour. Angad Bedi, Kumud Mishra, Girish Karnad, Nawab Shah all add to the proceedings. A special mention of the debutant Paresh Pahuja who definitely leaves his mark as Azaan. But the proceedings belong to that man greeted with ‘Seetis and Taalis’ in his introduction scene, the ‘Tiger’ himself, Salman Khan. A far cry from his character in ‘Tubelight’, he nails his character of Tiger and how! His dialogue delivery and action scenes are the ones to watch out.

On the whole, Tiger Zinda Hai is full of flaws but the personality of the main lead makes you want to watch it and keep rooting for it! This Christmas and new year, watch this ‘Tiger’ roar at a theatre near you!! As my friend put it earlier this week, review or no review, we would be watching it anyway!!

PS : The India-Pakistan love bantar was heart warming and fun to watch!!