Ek Tha Tiger

## YRF Spy Universe

> "Saath chalna hoga, zinda ya murda"
> (rough translation
> "You gotta come with Me, Dead or Alive")
>
> Tiger

***Ek Tha Tiger*** is a 2012 action thriller film. It is the first film and installment in the YRF Spy Universe. The film was released on August 15, 2012 internationally.

The film spawned two sequels: *Tiger Zinda Hai* released in 2017 and *Tiger 3* released in 2023.

## Synopsis

India's top spy Tiger and his love Zoya battle the dark world of intelligence and espionage that forbids its soldiers from loving the enemy and how it marks the beginning of the YRF Spy Universe.

## Plot

Avinash "Tiger" Singh Rathore, a RAW officer, is forced to kill Rabinder, one of his men, for defecting to Pakistan's spy agency ISI while in Iraq. Disappointed his missions always feature violence, Tiger is next deployed by his boss, Shenoy, on a mission in Dublin to observe Anwar Kidwai. Kidwai is a science professor of Indian origin who teaches at Trinity College and is suspected of undertaking novel nuclear weapons research, which RAW wish to gain before Pakistan. Tiger's handler, Gopi, accompanies him on this mission.

Tiger poses as Manish Chandra, a non-fiction author writing a book on Kidwai and other Indian academics. To gain access to his house, Tiger befriends Kidwai's caretaker, a British-Indian Trinity College dance student named Zoya. Over time, Tiger and Zoya fall in love, and she invites him to "My Son, Pinocchio", a college play sponsored by Kidwai and choreographed by Zoya. A few days later, Tiger is attacked by a mystery assailant, with him and Gopi fearing their identities have been compromised. After seeing the assailant on the day of the play, Tiger chases him through Dublin, which leads to Tiger publicly preventing a Luas train crash.

During the play, Gopi calls Tiger to inform him of activity at Kidwai's house; there, Tiger discovers Zoya is an ISI agent tasked on the same mission as him, extracting Kidwai's research from his computer. She refuses to commit treason by rejecting his request for her to hand over the research but Tiger lets her go after combating an attack by Feroz, an ISI agent, who is revealed to be Tiger's mystery assailant. Back in India, Tiger asks to be removed from field duty, instead completing analysis work with his colleague, Bagga. Bagga informs him of an intercepted Pakistani secret message, which was planted by Zoya for Tiger, informing him of her arrival at an upcoming UN meeting in Istanbul.

In Istanbul, Tiger and Zoya meet and they decide to elope; after misleading their respective agencies to Nur-Sultan, Tiger and Zoya travel to Havana. Some time later, Tiger and Zoya are tracked down when they foil a mugging attempt, with video surveillance reaching RAW and ISI. Being spotted at an amateur boxing match, the couple make plans to and attempt to leave Havana, but Zoya is arrested by the Cuban police and handed over to the ISI to be extradited to Pakistan.

Tiger then meets Gopi, stating Zoya will cooperate with RAW in exchange for her escape. Tiger and Gopi lead a team to intercept Zoya's prisoner transport convoy, but Tiger and Zoya flee Cuba in a light aircraft they had stationed in a nearby field after he is non-fatally shot by Gopi.

Some time later, Tiger calls Shenoy and informs him he and Zoya will return to their home countries when Pakistan and India no longer need the ISI and RAW. In the epilogue, several sightings of Tiger and Zoya are reported in Venice, Cape Town, Zurich, and London.

## Cast

* Salman Khan as Avinash "Tiger" Singh Rathore
* Katrina Kaif as Zoya "Zee" Humaimi
* Ranvir Shorey as Gopi Arya
* Roshan Seth as Prof. Anwar Kidwai
* Girish Karnad as Ajit Shenoy
* Gavie Chahal as Captain Abrar
* Samar Jai Singh as Rabinder
* Rajender Sethi as Bagga
* Troi Ge Borde as Feroz
* Bhupesh Singh as a RAW agent
* Sanjay Gurbaxani as a RAW agent
* Aaran Chaudhary as Tokas
* Ashok Awasthi as Indian foreign minister
* Zarksis Khandhadia as Pakistani foreign minister
* Lisa Byrne as Amelie
* Justin Fuentes as Brad
* Alison Flood as Fairy
* Rikki McTiernan as Pinnochio
* Juhi Parmar as a news reporter in Instanbul
* Ranjeev Varma as Indian driver in Nur-Sultan
* Yogi Raj as Pakistani driver in Nur-Sultan
* Tevfik Cemal Inceoglu as a forger

## Appearances

### Locations

* Iraq
* India
	+ New Delhi
		- RAW Headquarters
		- Tiger's Residence
* Ireland
	+ Dublin
		- Trinity College
		- Anwar Kidwai's residence
		- Zoya's apartment
* Turkey
	+ United Nations
	+ Hotel
* Kazakhstan
	+ Nur-Sultan
		- Kazaksthan Airport
* Cuban
	+ Havana
* Italy
* South Africa
	+ Cape Town
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
	+ London

### Mentioned

* James Bond
* Tiger's father (by Tiger)
* Nazar Jung (by Zoya)

## Production

### Development

After Kabir Khan was announced as director to a then-untitled action film, he approached Shah Rukh Khan with a draft of the screenplay. Although interested, Khan could not star in the film due to scheduling conflicts with *Don 2* and *Jab Tak Hai Jaan*. This allowed the film's screenplay, which had been completed in November 2010, to undergo changes well into shooting, including as late as February 2012. In May 2011, several reports confirmed Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif would star in a film titled *Ek Tha Tiger*. It would be Khan's first venture with Yash Raj Films, and the pair's fourth film together, after *Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?*, *Partner*, and *Yuvvraaj*. In order to begin filming, Khan had to postpone the development of *Sher Khan*, a yet unrealized project he began developing with his brother, Sohail Khan. Khan was paid a reported ₹32 crore (US$5.99 million) to star in the film. Kaif, who only appeared in one action film prior to *Ek Tha Tiger* (*Race*), performed her own stunts.

Kabir Khan wrote scenes specifically to include Trinity College, considering it "a character of repute"; he had previously visited the university in mid-1995 to interview then Irish President Mary Robinson. According to Avtar Panesar, Vice President of International Operations at Yash Raj, all locations were ultimately motivated by the screenplay, stating "if it fits the script, if it works, we then make use of the country as a location".

The rest of the cast was finalized over the following year; Ranvir Shorey signed on in April 2012, while the film marks the Bollywood debut of Gavie Chahal, who previously appeared in Punjabi films. On 3 May 2012, a photography shoot was held with the cast. After release, the film was subject to a copyright dispute after writer Anand Panda lodged a police complaint, backed by the Screenwriters Association, claiming the filmmakers stole his screenplay. Kabir Khan and Aditya Chopra were sent first information reports under charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and violation of the Copyright Act. Khan and Chopra subsequently filed an appeal to the Bombay High Court. In July 2012, a legal notice was served by the nephew of Ravindra Kaushik, a RAW agent known as Black Tiger, stating the film bears a striking resemblance to his uncle and his uncle's life.

### Filming

The film's production contained a number of delays. Initial reports said principal photography would begin in July 2011, but a spokesperson for Yash Raj Films announced production had been delayed due to budgeting concerns. Filming began in August 2011 in Dublin, but was postponed after Salman Khan underwent surgery for trigeminal neuralgia in the United States, and when some crew members in Ireland held a demonstration over filming conditions and a lack of payment.

Filming resumed in September 2011 in Turkey, in Istanbul and near the border with Syria and Iraq. There, the crew faced security concerns when they were mistaken for a hostile threat by Turkish Land Forces, and were required to lie down for ten minutes at gunpoint while the issue was being resolved. Production took place in Dublin between 10 September and 14 October 2011, with scenes between Khan and Shorey filmed on Temple Bar. According to Naoise Barry, the Irish Film Commissioner, Screen Ireland and Tourism Ireland collectively sought to attract Bollywood productions to the country since 2004, citing India as an emerging market for tourism in Ireland. According to Aman Agrawal, a production executive for Yash Raj, Dublin was chosen to "allow the film to be international and encourage people outside India to connect to Bollywood" while maintaining "appeal to Indian audiences who love to see new places". Dublin City Council, Trinity College (which saw filming on campus for the first time in 20 years), and other agencies helped enable filming in the city by granting complimentary visas and allowing reduced costs with tax breaks.

Production was halted altogether in early 2012 to account for script re-writes, abandoning production in Hong Kong in favor of an eventual crunch-schedule three-day period in Delhi. Filming ended in June 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand. Stunt directors for *The Bourne Identity* coordinated the film's action sequences, some of which were shot on location. Khan used a self-created fitness program titled 'Dirty Running' for 30 days to prepare for the role. Kaif completed her scenes without makeup. Filming also took place in Havana, with the song "Lapaata" shot along the Malecón, the Torreón de la Chorrera, Plaza Vieja, and Havana Cathedral. The film was the first Bollywood film to shoot in Cuba. Khan also appeared in a commercial for both Cuban and Irish tourism companies.

*Ek Tha Tiger* was shot on film by cinematographer Aseem Mishra using a collection of Arri cameras, including the Arriflex 235, Arriflex 435, and the Arriflex 535, with Angenieux 24-290mm T2.8 and Zeiss Ultra Prime Lenses.

## Videos

Ek Tha Tiger - Official Teaser - Salman Khan - Katrina KaifEk Tha Tiger - Official Trailer - Salman Khan - Katrina Kaif - Kabir Khan - YRF Spy Universe10 Years Of Tiger - Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif - Tiger 3 - Releasing Diwali 2023
## Other links

* *Ek Tha Tiger/Music*
* *Ek Tha Tiger/Gallery*

## Trivia

* *Ek Tha Tiger* is the shortest YRF Spy Universe movie.
* *Ek Tha Tiger* marks as the first collaboration of Salman Khan and YRF.
* *Ek Tha Tiger* marks the Bollywood debut of Gavie Chahal.