Tiger’s alive and kicking, but…

What I think of the Tiger Zinda Hai trailer

Twenty-five Indian nurses are held hostage in Iraq. Only one man can save them. He can kick a**, blaze guns, perform death-defying stunts as if it’s his family business.

Casting Salman Khan as the failproof action hero is never a mistake. The action sequences look brilliantly shot—so do the locations. Salman has a screen presence that is swashbuckling, endearing, and dashing—all at the same time.

So, we’ve found our movie of the year, right?

Wrong.

Unfortunately, all is not well with Tiger Zinda Hai’s trailer, and I’m worried about a few things.

Firstly, the villain. I couldn’t make out who it was. Nobody in the clip looked menacing enough that I could point him out as the bad guy. In contrast, Neerja was Jim Sarbh’s debut flick and evil was so clearly written all over his face that I instantly knew he was playing a negative character. Maybe bringing Jim on board would have been a better idea.

Next, how high are the stakes for Tiger? What’s his own story in this? What does he stand to lose if he’s unsuccessful in this mission? Superman saves the day, but the main story in his films is always connected to his personal life. These questions haven’t been answered in the trailer, so I hope the movie addresses them.

And finally, Katrina Kaif. She doesn’t seem to have much to offer to the story, so she better have a solid reason to even be in the movie in the first place. Also, what’s wrong with her cheeks?

The stakes might not be high for Tiger, but they’re definitely high for Salman after Tubelight’s dark run at the box office. If TZH does well, he might dethrone Aamir Khan as Bollywood’s own Santa Claus. And for that to happen, he needs to do more than just kick a** and blaze guns.

Watch the trailer here: