In 23 days, Yash Raj Films will bring the Bollywood curtain down on 2017 with its most anticipated film of the year – the Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif action thriller Tiger Zinda Hai. Its trailer crossed 45 million views whipping up audience interest in the December 22 release already. But even while fans of both actors wait for the sequel to the 2012 YRF blockbuster Ek Tha Tiger, the film’s writer-director Ali Abbas Zafar is in Dubai giving his product last minute touches of authenticity.

PeepingMoon.com has reliably learned that Zafar is busy recording correctly pronounced, accurate Arabic words so as to ensure that the sound design and background sound in Tiger Zinda Hai is as close to reality as is possible. In what must be a new trend for Bollywood, Zafar is recording people speaking Arabic live in several locations of Dubai for the film’s background sound. The director’s been in the Emirates city for the last couple of days engaged in this activity, determined to bring realism to the mainstream entertainer.

Recommended Read: Guns, Goons and Game On! Salman-Katrina's Tiger Zinda Hai trailer is out.

Zafar revealed, “We are doing background dubbing in Dubai with many local artists from Iraq, Syria and the Middle East who are fluent in Arabic to get the right texture of voices which is very essential for the film. This process will help us immensely in creating a true-to-life feel for the audience. Since Tiger Zinda Hai is set in Iraq, it is important that the language and diction heard by the audience is authentic. It will create the necessary environment and add impact to the plot.”

As revealed in the 3.14 minutes’ thrilling trailer, the pulsating action of the film is set in Iraq and is inspired by true events with Salman and Katrina on a do-or-die espionage mission to rescue 22 Indian nurses taken hostage by a feared terrorist organisation. Tiger Zinda Hai promises a rollercoaster ride of breathtaking action with both actors pulling off death-defying stunts on horseback, skis, riding a dune buggy, while engaged in fierce hand fights and deadly gun battles with helicopter gunships skimming the desert over exploding vehicles and a burning city. But there’s also the hint of romance between these two crack agents of unfriendly neighbouring nations in the song Swag Se Swagat that’s become the bop of the year. Ali Abbas Zafar is just adding to the vibe.