Agent Vinod, Ek Tha Tiger: Bollywood dons the spy glass

New Delhi: Goofy charm or suave precision? The first look of Ek Tha Tiger has driven a wedge between ardent fans of Salman Khan who has decided to swap his much-loved roguish image with a super-suave, smooth operating character made famous by characters such as Jason Bourne, James Bond and Ethan Hunt.

Shah Rukh Khan started the trend in Don, a remake of the original Amitabh Bachchan classic. Saif Ali Khan followed it up with Agent Vinod, a seriously cool guy, with an uncanny ability to dodge and deflect machine gun bullets in dusty Afghanistan bunkers.

We couldn't help compare the flat fall scene of Don 2 to the one from Mission Impossible 3 or that Agent Vinod lost its James Bond touch when Kareena Kapoor, for mystical reasons waited until the end to reveal the deactivating code for the detonator, which was going to kill the Agent.

Salman Khan swaps goofy charm for suave precision in his upcoming release \'Ek Tha Tiger\'.

With Ek Tha Tiger, and the promo that is distinctly inspired from the Bourne series, we see Salman performing similar action stunts - but will he be able to carry off the inconspicuous attitude and the subtle sharpness of a secret agent? We’ll have to find out. Robert Ludlum would have liked to know too.

At least one thing's for certain, while Bollywood always had the moolah, it’s now leaning to develop a whole new genre of sophisticated thrillers and hi-tech futuristic features that match up to ‘international’ standards.

The action spy thriller is not new to Bollywood. But the technology that makes these films hugely profitable in the West is yet to arrive in India. For thrill seekers it's a wait and watch game as screenwriters fine-tune their skills to make this an entertaining and worthwhile venture in India.

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