MUMBAI: Yes, that’s right. Tiger Zinda Hai is a tribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The film’s director, Ali Abbas Zafar, has revealed the biggest kept secret of film. The plot of the Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer film is inspired from the 2014 hostage rescue operation that India pulled off to save the lives of 46 of its nurses held captive by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq. Narendra Modi, who had just assumed the post of Prime Minister when this serious crisis hit his government, pulled all stops to ensure no lives were lost.
Ali was inspired by how the PM handled the situation and he wanted to keep a tribute for the PM in the movie. “If you have noticed, during the rescue mission in Tiger Zinda Hai, Paresh Rawal asks Tiger (Salman Khan) if ‘PM sahab’ is aware of the mission. The original dialogue in the film was ‘Modi Ji Ko Pata Hai?’ as a tribute to him and the mission,” Ali revealed.
“However, since the entire film is a work of fiction, the censor board rightfully asked us to change it to ‘PM sahab’. We respected their accurate decision as we were not retelling the exact details of the rescue mission,” he added.
Tiger Zinda Hai is on a roll at the box office. The movie has raced past Rs 206.04 crore in just seven days.
The movie’s dream run started on day one itself when it created the biggest ever non-holiday earning record by a Bollywood film by minting Rs 34 crore net. It then recorded the ‘Biggest Ever single day collection’ in the history of Bollywood by earning 45.53 crore net on Day 3. It went on to record the highest ever three-day weekend and then the Biggest ever four-day extended Holiday weekend.
The movie, which revolves around a plot that RAW agent Avinash ‘Tiger’ Singh Rathore and Pakistani spy Zoya reunite after eight years to rescue captured nurses by the IS stars Khan and Kaif in leading roles.
The flick is a sequel to Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger, which also had the same actors in the leading roles.