Cinematic Universes have been overwhelming the U.S. film industry for quite a while now. Series like the MCU and the now-defunct DCEU have changed the way most film series are franchised. This has affected the Godzilla films, the new Star Wars movies and TV shows, and even the horror franchise The Conjuring. These effects are not relegated only to Hollywood. Specifically, the Indian film industry has been leaning more towards Cinematic Universes, with countless new ones announced over the last few years. I am not very familiar with most of these. I watched Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva from last year, which is the first film in a trilogy as well as a planned cinematic universe called the Astraverse. I was disappointed by this movie despite its fun concept, but I will probably watch its sequels. The only other Indian Cinematic Universe that I have seen is the YRF Spy Cinematic Universe.
These films have continually been enormously successful, breaking box-office records with each of their releases and becoming the highest-grossing Indian film franchise ever. I actually only heard about these films when the most recent entry, Pathaan, came out, and I only realized that it was part of a cinematic universe months later. Because of this, as well as Pathaan‘s starring Shah Rukh Khan, I knew that I had to check these out for myself.
There are currently only four films out that take place in this universe, but there have been three more announced. The YRF in the name refers to Yash Raj Films, the production company behind the series. These films are Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, War, and the latest film, Pathaan. It is important to know that these films were not always supposed to be interconnected in a shared universe. That happened before the production of War and after the groundbreaking success of the first two Tiger films. These films follow a secret agent for RAW, the foreign intelligence agency for India, named Tiger and played by Salman Khan. Throughout these movies, he forms a relationship with an opposing secret agent who works for Pakistan named Zoya Humaimi, played by Katrina Kaif. The first film follows them as they forge a romance despite their countries’ lack of peace. In the second film, they are married with a child when they are called back to save kidnapped nurses from ISIL. I think these two are definitely the weakest of the series so far, but they are not without their charm.
I really like the character of Tiger, and I think Salman Khan’s charisma absolutely sells his persona as well as the romance with Zoya. There are some hilariously over-the-top action scenes in both of these, but much more in the second one. The first film, while having fun moments and twists, was painfully dull and did not have enough dancing or action to maintain my interest. Despite the fact that it was the shortest of the series. There was one fun moment where Tiger surfs down a set of stairs on a table, which was fun. Also, there were some great dance numbers, and I think that the romance between Tiger and Zoya is by far the most believable in the franchise. The film needed more of these aspects. Instead, it gets bogged down in over explanations of the plot and conflict and does not have enough moments of our two leads together. I should mention, however, that because this film was not available anywhere, I had to watch it on YouTube. This would have been fine had the subtitles not been fifteen seconds behind the rest of the film, and this absolutely made it worse. I do think that rewatching it, having seen the subsequent films, would definitely make this movie better.
The second movie in the series, Tiger Zinda Hai, improves on everything from the first film. This movie has better action, a more cohesive story, better dance numbers, and I liked the characters more. It is inspired by the real-life abduction of Indian nurses by ISIL, which was a poor choice, but the real-world tragedy is quickly separated from the film through absurd action scenes. The film is by no means self-aware, but it definitely embraces a goofier tone than its predecessor. The film opens with a hilarious scene with Tiger nonchalantly fighting off a pack of wolves while snowboarding down a mountain. If that doesn’t sound appealing, I don’t know what your problem is. Almost immediately after this scene is a lovely musical number about Tiger and Zoya’s relationship. If you are unfamiliar with Indian cinema, random musical numbers are a norm in these movies and are often some of the best parts of them; take Naatu Naatu from RRR, for example, and these movies are no different. There are some comically poor lyrics, or at least translations. For instance, “With Swag, We Welcome All” was the final song in Tiger Zinda Hai.
While the songs continue to disappoint as the series continues, the action escalates dramatically in the third and fourth films. War does not have bad dance numbers, but their inclusion felt obligatory in the film, and their placement in the narrative could have been improved. The film follows a RAW agent who is trying to find a rogue agent who is killing Indian officials instead of terrorists. There is genuinely no connection to the Tiger films other than the inclusion of the RAW agency. The action is incredible, though, and even better than the best moments from both Tiger films. A lot of the action draws clear inspiration from F&F, like driving a car out of a plane.
My making comparisons to western films is not to discredit these films as original; it is simply the perspective I am familiar with. That being said, the plot is similar to a Mission Impossible movie or even the Bond film Die Another Day because of some hilarious face-altering plastic surgery. The plot is also constantly flashbacking to moments and altering what actually happens. In any other film this would be detrimental and annoying, but it actually worked well and it added to the goofy tone. These elements provide some excellent twists and the most consistently engaging plot in the franchise. The sound design was bad during some of the action scenes, with overemphasized punching and kicking noises. This does not really detract from the action, but it felt unintentional. This film also has literally no connection to the Tiger movies, aside from the RAW agency.
I think this lack of connection works in establishing a cinematic universe. Instead of following the MCU’s shoehorning in of setting up future installments and spinoffs, these movies stand on their own and can each be watched separately. This makes it even more exciting when characters from previous films show up. This happens in Pathaan, when Tiger shows up to save the day, and it was genuinely one of the most exciting movie moments this year. It is perfectly timed, does not last too long, and is one of the coolest and most exciting action scenes in the entire franchise. This movie escalates the action to a new level. It is goofy and over-the-top, featuring impossible escapes in helicopters and skyscraper infiltrations, but somehow it feels more grounded than the previous films. The beatings that the characters take are ridiculous, but the stakes felt real, and I was genuinely worried about the protagonists in the film. The songs are fine; the dance numbers are great, obviously, but the actual lyrics backing them up fall flat. There is no “With Swag, We Welcome All” or any other memorable musical moment.
Similarly to War, Pathaan also continually flashes back to different moments, revealing alternate information, and it works just as well. This film also introduces the character of Pathaan, played by the legendary Shakh Rukh Khan, and he is a great character. His inclusion is genuinely exciting. Even someone like me, who is not familiar with most Bollywood films, knows who SRK is and the attention and draw he brings to his movies. Pathaan also has some humor, through its lead character something that War cripplingly lacked. I enjoy the balance that both Pathaan and the Tiger films are able to strike. Both have world-ending narratives, but they also have self-awareness and genuinely hilarious moments.
Overall, I enjoyed these films quite a bit. I think rewatching the first Tiger movie with synced subtitles would probably be a good idea, but that’s really the only detriment. I am excited to see where the future of this franchise goes, and I hope that they continue to be successful. It will be interesting to see, because of the strikes going on in Hollywood right now, whether or not there will be an influx of foreign films in theaters in the next few years. I hope that international films from across the globe will be able to find an audience in the United States, both theatrically and on streaming services. But that is something that will have to wait to be seen.
Thank you, as always, for reading. It really means a lot, and if there are any suggestions or ideas, please don’t hesitate to comment.
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