YRF Spy Universe
YRF Spy Universe is an Indian shared universe centred on a series of spy action films, which feature various fictional RAW agents. It is produced and distributed by Yash Raj Films. Overview 
The shared universe, which initially started out as a single movie series for the Tiger films, later was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. The first film Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and its sequel Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) centre on a fictional RAW agent played by Salman Khan. War (2019) tells the story of a RAW agent played by Hrithik Roshan who goes rogue. Before making War, producer Aditya Chopra and director Siddharth Anand came up with the idea of merging these films and creating a shared universe by crossing over the characters who all belong to the RAW. However, War was still made as a standalone film without directly connecting to the first two Tiger films—supporting the idea of creating a proper foundation for the War characters before a proper crossover. Pathaan (2023) starring Shah Rukh Khan as the titular character and a RAW agent, directed by Anand, is the first film to have characters appearing from both the Tiger franchise and War. It is the fourth film in the SPY Universe and the first YRF film to have a crossover. Tiger 3 (2023) starring Salman Khan is the next film in the YRF Spy Universe. It is directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Aditya Chopra. It is the fifth instalment in the YRF Spy Universe and the sequel to Tiger Zinda Hai (2017). It will release on 12 November 2023 on Diwali. Films

Ek Tha Tiger (2012)

RAW agent Avinash "Tiger" Singh Rathore, is sent to Dublin to observe an Indian scientist who is suspected of sharing nuclear secrets with the ISI. He meets and falls for his caretaker Zoya Humaimi, a girl with a dark past. Ek Tha Tiger is the first instalment of the shared universe and was released on 15 August 2012 worldwide. The film earned ₹325 crore worldwide against a budget of ₹75 crore, becoming one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films by international gross. Tiger Zinda Hai (2017)

Tiger and Zoya rejoin forces with RAW and ISI in order to rescue a group of nurses, who are held hostage by ISC, an Iraqi terrorist organisation headed by Abu Usman. Tiger Zinda Hai is the second instalment of the shared universe, and is based on true incidents that happened in 2014 the abduction of Indian nurses by ISIL. Tiger Zinda Hai was released on 22 December 2017 and made a new non-holiday record in India as it collected 34.1crore nett on its first day. It went on to collect ₹35.30 crores gross on the second day. The film recorded the second-highest day of all time. It netted Rs 154 crore in its first four days in India. The film grossed 565crore worldwide becoming the eighth highest-grossing Indian film. At the 63rd Filmfare Awards, it won for Best Action. War (2019)

Major Kabir Dhaliwal, a former soldier and a skilled agent, goes rogue after a mission to catch a terrorist named Rizwan Ilyasi goes awry. However, his boss sends Khalid, another soldier and Kabir's student to track him down. War is the third instalment of the shared universe, which was commissioned after the success of the previous films, and was directed by Siddharth Anand, starring Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff and Vaani Kapoor in lead roles. It was released on 2 October 2019, coinciding with the Gandhi Jayanti. Proving to be similarly successful to the first entry in the series, the film emerged as a huge box office success, becoming the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2019 and one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. Pathaan (2023)

Pathaan, an exiled RAW agent is assigned to take down Jim, a former RAW agent-turned-leader of "Outfit X", a private terror organisation that is planning to spread a deadly lab-generated virus dubbed "Raktbeej" across India. Pathaan is the fourth instalment in the shared universe directed by Siddharth Anand, and the first YRF Spy Universe movie to feature a mid-credits scene. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in the lead roles. Salman Khan will reprise his role as Tiger in a cameo appearance. It was the most expensive project of Yash Raj Films till Tiger 3 with a whopping 300 crore budget. Tiger 3 (2023)

Tiger and Zoya are framed as traitors by a revenge-seeking terrorist named Aatish where they set on a life-threatening crusade to prove their innocence. Tiger 3 is the fifth installment of the shared universe and sequel to Tiger Zinda Hai, will feature Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, reprising their eponymous roles of Tiger and Zoya, with Emraan Hashmi playing the antagonist. Shah Rukh Khan will reprise his role as Pathaan in a cameo appearance. The film's Story is written by Aditya Chopra and directed by Maneesh Sharma. The music will be composed by Pritam, with lyrics penned by Irshad Kamil and Amitabh Bhattacharya. It is the most expensive Yash Raj Films project, budgeted at an estimated amount of 300 core. War 2 (2025)
The sixth installment of the shared universe and sequel to War titled War 2 was announced by Yash Raj Films on 4 April 2023, with Hrithik Roshan reprising his role as Kabir. The film will be directed by Ayan Mukerji, as opposed to Siddharth Anand. The film also stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr. and Kiara Advani. It will be the Hindi film debut of Jr. NTR. The Principal photography commenced in October 2023. Tiger vs Pathaan (2025)
In 2021, it was reported that Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan would unite for a standalone film, which was confirmed by Salman Khan in December 2021, with a working title of Tiger vs Pathaan. It will be directed by Siddharth Anand as announced on 6 April 2023. In August 2023, the film's script was locked by Producer Aditya Chopra and was narrated to Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan in two separate meetings. On 16 September 2023, it was reported that the film will enter in pre-production after the release of Tiger 3 and shooting will begin in March 2024. Cast and characters 
This table lists the main characters who appear in the YRF Spy Universe. Characters

Zoya 

Zoya Humaimi-Rathore is a fictional Pakistani spy (ISI agent). She is portrayed by Katrina Kaif. The character first appeared in Ek Tha Tiger (2012), as an undercover ISI agent living in Dublin, Ireland. Following the events of Ek Tha Tiger, she appeared again in the sequel, Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), as the wife of Tiger; she will also appear again in Tiger 3 (2023) and Tiger vs. Pathaan (2025). She disaffected from the ISI, as she had eloped with her love interest turned husband, Tiger, who was an Indian spy (R&AW agent). However, she remains loyal to Pakistan and returns occasionally to save her country from threats.As revealed in Tiger Zinda Hai, she has a son named Junior and an adopted son Hassan. Rubai 

Rubina "Rubai" Mohsin is a fictional Pakistani spy (ISI agent). She is portrayed by Deepika Padukone. The character first appeared in Pathaan (2023) as an ex-ISI agent turned doctor. After her father was arrested and tortured, she became a doctor in Pakistan and at some point joined ISI. After disconnecting from ISI, she joined Outfit X, a private terrorist organisation, but later switched her allegiances to RAW. She is the love interest of Pathaan, an Indian spy (RAW agent) and friend of Zoya. Crew

Reception

Box office performance 
The universe has been notable for its profit. Ek Tha Tiger and its follow-up Tiger Zinda Hai earned a combined profit of , according to International Business Times. Critical and public response

Ek Tha Tiger (2012)

In India, there was praise for the film's feminist themes, with Marjolaine Gout noting the film is "a roaring, visual, comic feast where the damsel in distress fights back", giving Ek Tha Tiger 3.5 out of 5 stars. Anupama Chopra of the Hindustan Times also commended the feminist themes, saying "it's such a pleasure to see a Hindi film heroine not [be] a damsel in distress", while also praising the film's action sequences, giving Ek Tha Tiger 3 out of 5 stars. Jahanavi Samant of Mid-Day gave the film the same rating and criticised its tone as being inconsistent, with "Ek Tha Tiger [being] unable to decide whether it is spy action or a love saga". Ronnie Scheib of Variety gave a positive review, praising the performances of the leads and film's production aesthetic, noting "Kaif impresses in her action-heroine debut, while Salman Khan's thinking-on-his-feet immediacy adds depth to his usual macho muscle. Local audiences will no doubt derive a special thrill from the onscreen reunion of stars Khan and Kaif, [with] Aseem Mishra's gorgeous location lensing". Tiger Zinda Hai (2017)

Tiger Zinda Hai opened to mostly positive reviews. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave 4.5 stars, and said "Salman is the lifeline, the real treasure of Tiger Zinda Hai. He sinks his teeth into the character and, in several sequences, peels off the mask of super-stardom and brings the actor to the fore. Katrina is in solid form, in action sequences specifically commands attention." Umesh Punwani of Koimoi gave 4 stars, and said "Katrina Kaif is brilliant! She has very few dialogues, and no, that's not the reason she's good. Working amazingly well with her expressions, she has turned into an athlete for this one. Performing a few major action sequences, she is flawless." Lasyapriya Sundaram of The Times of India gave 3.5 stars, and said "The film is visually stunning in parts and Salman Khan plays Tiger with roaring confidence and dialogues packed with punch. Of course, his fans get a true-blue Salman Khan moment when he bares his torso." Rachit Gupta of Filmfare gave 3.5 stars, and said "It may look like a Hollywood action thriller, but at its heart, Tiger Zinda Hai is an unabashed masala movie. The heady mixture of an international-looking action film and the regular tropes of Hindi cinema make it a pleasing watch." War (2019)

Anupama Chopra said,"War is a popcorn entertainer and you can't ask too many questions but if you're willing to suspend disbelief, the twists and turns exert a solid grip." A writer for Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4 stars, and said "War is an action entertainer which has style as well as enough twists and turns to keep the viewers engrossed. At the box office, the extended weekend, dazzling action, stunning international locales and stylish execution will ensure mammoth footfalls for the film". Taran Adarsh gave it four stars out of five and called the film "[e]scapist cinema at its best". Komal Nahta of Film Information opined, "The film could prove to be the starting of a new franchise for the Yash Raj Films banner". Writing for India TV, Sonal gave the film 3.5 stars, writing, "Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff of Abbas-Mustan kinda twists, turns, characters, situations, logic, gravity, physics, chemistry, and some Ekta Kapoor-esque tricks all tossed together to make a visually spectacular concoction".The Times of India rated it three stars out of five and felt the film had "lot of style, stunts and show, but lacking a solid storyline". Pathaan (2023) 

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and termed the film "complete entertainer replete with action, emotions, patriotism, humour, thrill, and of course, the star power of Shah Rukh Khan." Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 stars and  wrote "Shah Rukh Khan's weathered intensity, grizzly charisma and trademark wit lends Pathaan's all-out, devil-may-care antics a sense of purpose that evades mindless acts of mayhem". Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and stated that the film is a "visual spectacle" and termed action choreography is "truly out of this world". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and said that the film swings and strikes with all the "style" and "aplomb" in the world. Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Pathaan has all the ingredients of a masala potboiler — slowmo entries, iconic battle of good versus bad and most importantly a sexy-smouldering Shah Rukh Khan, who can fight the good fight on and off the screen". Himesh Mankad of Pinkvilla gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and termed it as "tentpole event film" which has right amount of action, thrill, emotion and drama. Graphic novels
 A graphic novel titled Ek Tha Tiger: Mahasagar Ki Suraksha (English: Ek Tha Tiger: Saving The High Seas) was published in 2012 by Yomics. Post-release, the comic failed to generate positive word-of-mouth. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama commended the comics' design but said that the main story failed to meet his expectations of a deeper plot, exciting narrative, and a tighter script. Another graphic novel named Ek Tha Tiger: Caught In The Web has been published in 2012 by Yomics, which also features some Hum Tum characters. Games
 Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger The Bhai, two action mobile video games by Zapak, were released as tie-ins for the 2012 film. Being SalMan: The Official Game, a 3D action mobile video game developed by Playizzon was released in 2016. It features characters portrayed by Salman Khan in different films including Tiger, Chulbul Pandey and Prem (the latter from Prem Ratan Dhan Payo). See also
Cop Universe
Dhoom (franchise)
Race (film series)
Baaghi (film series)
Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe
K.G.F (film series)
Lokesh Cinematic Universe
HIT Universe

References

External links
 
 
 
 

Yash Raj Films
Film series introduced in 2012
Shared universes
Indian film series
Spy film series
Films about the Research and Analysis Wing
Action film franchises
Thriller film series
Films adapted into comics
Films adapted for other media