Yash Raj Films’ spy Universe is built on a sequence of espionage action films starring several fictitious RAW operatives. Yash Raj Films produces and distributes it. The franchise has been financially successful, generating over 2,100 crore on an overall expenditure of 600 crore, which makes it the second highest-grossing Indian series.
The shared universe began with a specific series of films and was subsequently extended to include comparable plot elements, locations, performers, and characters. Salman Khan portrays an R&AW officer in his debut film of the spy universe, Ek Tha Tiger, released in 2012, and its followup, Tiger Zinda Hai, released in 2017. War in 2019 is the story of a rogue RAW agent played by Hrithik Roshan.
Before producing War, production company owner Aditya Chopra and director Siddharth Anand discussed combining these films and establishing a single world by reuniting the RAW characters. On the other hand, war was created as a solo film with no clear connections to the other two Tiger films, supporting the notion of laying a strong basis for the War actors before a genuine crossover.
Pathaan in the year 2023, directed by Siddharth Anand and featuring Shah Rukh Khan as the lead figure and a RAW officer, is the very first film to involve individuals from both the Tiger and War franchises. It is the fourth installment in the SPY Universe and the inaugural YRF crossover feature.
Let’s talk briefly about the YRF Films under spy universe
Tiger Ek Tha Tiger
Year: 2012
Avinash “Tiger” Singh, a RAW operative, is dispatched to Ireland to watch an Indian researcher accused of exchanging nuclear information with the ISI. He meets and falls in love with his caregiver, Zoya Humaimi, an ISI operative. Ek Tha Tiger is the very first installment of the shared universe, and it was launched globally on August 15, 2012. The film grossed 325 crore worldwide on an expenditure of 75 crore, making it among the highest-grossing Bollywood movies in terms of overseas gross.
Tiger Zinda Hai
Year: 2017
Tiger and Zoya combine forces alongside RAW and ISI to free a bunch of nurses kidnapped by ISC, an Iraqi militant organisation led by Abu Usman.
Tiger Zinda Hai is the second installment of the shared world, and it is based on genuine events from 2014, such as the kidnapping of Indian nurses by ISIL. Tiger Zinda Hai launched on December 22, 2017, established a historic non-holiday record in India, grossing a 34.1 crore net figure on its first day.
War
Year: 2019
After an operation to apprehend a terrorist called Rizwan Illiyasi goes wrong, Kabir, a talented RAW agent, turns rogue. On the other hand, his supervisor dispatches Khalid, another spy, and Kabir’s trainee, to hunt him down. The third installment of the shared universe, created by Siddharth Anand and featuring Hrithik Roshan, and Tiger Shroff, was produced following the popularity of the previous movies. It was launched on October 2, 2019, to coincide with Gandhi Jayanti.
Pathaan
Year: 2023
Pathaan, an outcast RAW agent, is tasked with assassinating Jim, an erstwhile RAW operative and the commander of “Outfit X,” a secretive terror outfit seeking to spread a lethal lab-created virus known as “Raktbeej” throughout India. It is directed by Siddharth Anand and is the fourth installment in the shared universe and the inaugural YRF Spy Universe film to incorporate mid-credits scenes inspired by the Marvel Studios Cinematic Universe. The film’s primary actors are Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan, and John Abraham. Salman Khan appears as “Tiger” in a prolonged cameo.
Tiger 3
Year: 2023
It will be the fifth part of the shared universe and a followup to Tiger Zinda Hai, starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in their respective namesake characters, with Emraan Hashmi portraying the adversary. Maneesh Sharma directed the film. Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan will also participate in the movie as Pathaan and Kabir Dhaliwal, repeating their characters from Pathaan and War, respectively. The screenplay was written by Aditya Chopra and Shridhar Raghavan.
