YRF Spy Universe
What is the YRF Spy Universe?
Who are the main stars of the YRF Spy Universe?
Who are the villains in the YRF Spy Universe?
YRF Spy Universe, Bollywood film franchise in which spy thrillers with distinct storylines occupy a shared cinematic universe. The franchise is produced by and named for the Yash Raj Films (YRF) studio and consists of separate but interconnected films or series of films centering on different fictional agents of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s external intelligence service. These agents are played by some of Indian cinema’s top stars, including Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and Shah Rukh Khan. Alia Bhatt is set to headline the franchise’s first female-centric film in December 2025.
Background
Filmmaker Aditya Chopra, head of the YRF production house, is credited with conceptualizing the shared universe. The YRF Spy Universe was launched with the film Pathaan (2023), which stars Shah Rukh Khan. Three YRF-produced films—two starring Salman Khan as an agent codenamed Tiger and one starring Hrithik Roshan as an agent named Kabir—predate the YRF Spy Universe and have been retrofitted into it. Future films set in the universe will be written with the intent of facilitating crossover appearances. As of 2025 Pathaan is the highest-earning film in the YRF Spy Universe, collecting more than 1,000 crore rupees worldwide ($120 million in 2023 dollars). All films set in the universe have been commercially successful.
Characters
In addition to plot twists and thrilling action, the YRF Spy Universe films also feature catchy musical numbers, such as this song from War (2019) that demonstrates Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff’s fabulous and highly regarded dance skills.
The agents who headline the YRF Spy Universe are:
- Tiger (Salman Khan): Original name Avinash Singh Rathore; wears a distinctive checked scarf and disassociates himself from RAW after falling in love with Pakistani agent Zoya but returns on occasion for specific missions
- Major Kabir Dhaliwal (Hrithik Roshan): Former soldier believed to have gone rogue from RAW (later revealed to be a ruse) who is the legal guardian of the daughter of his deceased love interest
- Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan): Mysterious agent whose real name is not revealed; receives the nickname Pathaan (which means “Pashtun”) after a rescue mission in Afghanistan
Other agents or former agents who also inhabit the universe include:
- Zoya Nazar (Katrina Kaif): An agent belonging to the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) who is Tiger’s love interest
- Rubina Mohsin (Deepika Padukone): Former ISI agent (nicknamed Rubai) who joins a terror outfit but eventually shifts allegiance to Pathaan, with whom she falls in love
- Khalid Rahmani/Saurabh (Tiger Shroff): Khalid is pitted against Kabir, his former mentor who is believed to have gone rogue; eventually revealed to be the traitor Saurabh masquerading as Khalid
- Jim (John Abraham): Former RAW agent who used to be Kabir’s partner; becomes a terrorist after his pregnant wife is killed by Somalian pirates
- Aatish Rehman (Emraan Hashmi): Former ISI official and Zoya’s mentor who frames Tiger and Zoya and kidnaps their son
Girish Karnad and Ashutosh Rana appear as RAW chief Shenoy and RAW official Colonel Luthra, respectively, in more than one series of films in the universe.
Films
The Tiger series
Ek Tha Tiger (2012) is retroactively the earliest entry in the YRF Spy Universe timeline. It introduces Tiger and Zoya, who are on opposing sides of the same assignment involving an Indian scientist suspected of selling his research to Pakistan. They fall in love, join forces, and go on the run. In the sequel, Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), Tiger and Zoya—now married and with a son—work a joint RAW and ISI operation to rescue Indian and Pakistani nurses taken hostage by terrorists. In the third film, Tiger 3 (2023), Tiger and Zoya are framed as traitors by Aatish Rehman and must clear their names. The film, fifth in the YRF Spy Universe timeline, features crossover appearances by Pathaan, who helps Tiger escape from a Pakistani military prison, and Kabir, who is seen on his next mission in a post-credits scene.
The War series
In War (2019), the third film in the timeline, Kabir poses as a rogue agent and eventually uncovers a traitor, Saurabh, who is revealed to have surgically altered his appearance to look like Kabir’s protégé Khalid, whom Saurabh had killed. The second installment, War 2, will premiere in August 2025 as the sixth film in the timeline. War 2 will star N.T. Rama Rao, Jr., and Kiara Advani.
Pathaan
Pathaan, the fourth film in the timeline, is the conceptual genesis point of the YRF Spy Universe. It is set in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India that removed the high degree of autonomy that had been given to Jammu and Kashmir. The eponymous agent is tasked with taking down the disaffected former RAW agent Jim, who masterminds a plot to unleash a deadly bioweapon across India. Tiger appears in two scenes in the film—he extracts Pathaan, who has been captured by Russian authorities, and the pair are later seen discussing their likely super-spy successors. Kabir is referenced in more than one scene.
Future films
Alpha, scheduled for December 2025, will be the first film in the franchise to center on a female spy (Bhatt). The cast will feature Sharvari, Anil Kapoor, and Bobby Deol. A sequel to Pathaan has also been announced.
Timeline
The films in chronological order:
- Ek Tha Tiger (released August 15, 2012)
- Tiger Zinda Hai (released December 22, 2017)
- War (released October 2, 2019)
- Pathaan (released January 25, 2023)
- Tiger 3 (released November 12, 2023)