The Bollywood film industry routinely has its flights of fancy that result in the making of so-called ‘spy movies’. From time to time, there is the attempt to recreate the quintessential spy film with the intrigue, the style, the exotic locales, the suave undercover agent and his gadgets. And yet we have never had a competent Bollywood equivalent of the James Bond films. Watching the year’s biggest box office grosser, the Salman Khan starrer Tiger Zinda Hai, it occurred to me that Bollywood spy movies continue, essentially, to be togged up masala films masquerading as slick thrillers.
He was supposed to be a spy in Johny Mera Naam, but could still be found stalking Hema Malini as she attempted to have a bath (palbhar ke liye koi). There was precious little spying on display, as he and his heroine indulged in some completely unsubtle musical communication in full view of the police to the tune of o mere raja. The stylish, laconic Dev Anand was probably among the most authentic Bollywood spies though, with films like C.I.D. (1956), Jewel Thief (1967) and Prem Pujari (1970).
The Shah Rukh Khan-Twinkle Khanna starrer 1999 film Baadshah, could loosely be termed as a spy movie (he is holding a gun in the poster after all); but only loosely. This is the story of a bumbling detective and is more accurately described as an action comedy.
The rather detailed name of this flick, The Hero: Love Story of a Spy - was the first giveaway. The other was Sunny Deol's laughable bewigged self (because a strikingly conspicuous wig is the best disguise when undercover of course) doing his interpretation of a cinematic spy. In the film, he is supposed to be a RAW agent, there is also a ‘mission’ of some sort, but at its heart, this is a plain Hindi film. Period.
A film by this name was made in 1977 but no one really remembers it. The 2012 Agent Vinod does deserve the spy movie descriptor to a large extent; more than most other alleged Indian spy films. There was the suave, witty Saif Ali Khan in the titular role, fancy locales and some slick action. But then again there was also this: an item song called dil mera muft ka and the madly catchy number, pyaar ki pungi that borrowed liberally from an Iranian song. The movie also called for a significant suspension of disbelief…but then that is every spy movie ever.
The first one in this franchise (we expect more to come after Tiger Zinda Hai's crazy success), Ek Tha Tiger had its moments – some exotic locations, some amount of intrigue and much action. But make no mistake it was a Salman Khan film – a genre by itself. If it was also a spy film, that was completely secondary to this central premise. It was a cinematic vehicle for Bhai to display his inimitable style, his abs and his specific ability to get away with cinematic liberties others wouldn’t dare take. It was a film more memorable for the unlikely cross-border romance and Bhai’s breathtaking audacity than any undercover spying as such.
Clearly, they thought that the idea of Bhai as Tiger was a great one, so they made a sequel, with most of the same characters. Tiger Zinda Hai is, however, a disjointed mishmash of loosely connected scenes that pass for a plot; far worse than the original. If this is supposed to be a spy film, there is no evidence of this in the amped-up action, the utterly implausible story, the glaring plot holes, the huge continuity issues and largely over-the-top acting.
Indian films have heroes, not actors. Substance is strictly secondary to style. The role to be played is typically subsumed by the personality and characteristic mannerisms of the ‘star’. Bollywood stars never stop being stars long enough to slip into the covert, understated role of a spy. Indian movies always have larger than life characters, song, dance, drama; preferably melodrama. In the midst of all this, genuine Bollywood spy films may perhaps be too much to expect?
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