Tiger 3 is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. It is the fifth installment in the YRF Spy Universe. The film stars Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi with Revathi, Simran, Vishal Jethwa, Riddhi Dogra and Kumud Mishra in character roles. A sequel to Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), the film is set after the events of War (2019) and Pathaan (2023). In it, Tiger and Zoya set out to stop a rogue ISI agent who uses them to stage a coup against the Pakistani government.
Principal photography began in March 2021 with filming taking place in Delhi, Mumbai, Istanbul, Saint Petersburg and Vienna. The film's soundtrack is composed by Pritam while the background score is composed by Tanuj Tiku. Made at an estimated budget of ₹300 crore, it is one of the most expensive Indian films and the most expensive film produced by Yash Raj Films.[3][5]
Tiger 3 was released on 12 November 2023 in standard, IMAX, 4DX, and other premium formats, coinciding with Diwali. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for its action sequences, music, score, technical aspects and cast performances (particularly Khan, Kaif and Hashmi), but criticism for its plot and pace.[1] The film grossed ₹466.63 crore worldwide, emerging as the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2023 and the ninth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023.[6]
Plot[edit]
In 1999, a teenage Zoya witnesses her father, ISI agent Rehan Nazar, die in a bomb blast. After his funeral, she is visited by Nazar's protege, Aatish Rehman, who convinces her to join the ISI.
In the present, Avinash "Tiger" Singh Rathore is called for a mission by the new RAW chief Maithili Menon to rescue Tiger's former handler Gopi Arya, who was captured in Afghanistan while trying to extract information from the Taliban about a mission being planned in Pakistan. Following his rescue, Gopi reveals to Tiger that Zoya is involved in the planned mission and succumbs to his injuries. Tiger begins to spy on Zoya, and is later assigned to safeguard an arms supplier named Jibran Sheikh in St. Petersburg, Russia, who worked with Gopi and escaped to the country after being discovered in Pakistan. Tiger witnesses Zoya's attempt to assassinate Sheikh; after saving him, Tiger is captured by Aatish, who reveals that he forced Zoya to assassinate Sheikh by near-fatally drugging and kidnapping her and Tiger's son Junior. Over a flashback twelve years prior, it is revealed that Aatish sought to derail a peace treaty between India and Pakistan in Vienna by assassinating the Indian Army General. After refusing to cooperate with the plan, Zoya ended up covertly informing the Indian consulate through Tiger, who was the agent responsible for quickly intercepting her message. Aatish's pregnant wife, Shaheen Baig, attempts the assassination herself, but was shot and killed by Tiger. Aatish denied that his agents knew of the plan and was subsequently imprisoned and ousted from the ISI; he was briefly greeted during his arrest by Tiger, who, back in the present day, now realizes his ulterior motives.
Tiger and Zoya recruit their team of RAW agents Rakesh, Karan and Nikhil, to steal a briefcase for Aatish, containing missile launch codes in Istanbul in exchange for Junior. Aatish then has Tiger and Zoya framed as traitors by their respective countries, leading to Tiger's imprisonment at a military prison in Northern Pakistan.
Tiger is sentenced to death, but manages to escape with the help of Pathaan. He then travels to Islamabad where he meets his adopted son, Hassan, whom Tiger had rescued in a mission in Ikrit.[a] Tiger's team, Zoya and ISI agents Abrar and Javed return to Islamabad, where they learn that Aatish and the Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan General Imtiaz Haq are planning to assassinate the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nasreen Irani in order for Aatish to replace her. To save the life of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nasreen Irani, Tiger, Zoya, and their team secretly enter the Pakistan's PMO and reveal the plan to Irani. Tiger and Zoya take Irani to an underground bunker of Pakistan's PMO and Tiger forces General Haq to publicly reveal the plan.
However, Aatish secretly kills General Haq with the help of Javed, who is revealed to be Shaheen's brother and frames Tiger for killing General Haq. Abrar and Karan are killed by Aatish and Javed, who locate Prime Minister Irani. Hassan sacrifices himself, allowing Tiger and Zoya to help Prime Minister Irani to escape. Zoya avenges Abrar and Karan's deaths by killing Javed. A fight ensues between Tiger and Aatish, ending with Tiger killing Aatish. Irani exposes Aatish's plot to the public and Tiger, Zoya and their team are proven innocent. Tiger contacts Menon and assures her that he will always be there to serve his country.
In a post-credits scene, Colonel Sunil Luthra contacts Kabir Dhaliwal, who is in Japan, and assigns him to assassinate an unidentified enemy.