Top reasons to watch Bollywood spectacle 'Pathaan' starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone

In an era of over-sharing, it takes an outlandish amount of chutzpah to discard the tradition of doing away with numerous press interviews ahead of a film’s release. But A-list actors Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham who star in the January 25th action-spectacle ‘Pathaan’ seems to have unanimously taken that call to keep a low profile in terms of assigning time for a media publicity blitzkreig. Perhaps, they want their film to do all the talking or they want to control the narrative by drip-feeding information to the press globally through sanctioned and sanitised PR releases. But keeping a low-profile – in terms of doling out democratic interviews -- doesn’t guarantee that you won’t stoke controversy or be a part of news entertainment cycle.

‘Pathaan’, one of the most-anticipated Bollywood films of 2023, has been grabbing headlines since its trailer release. Its snazzy song Besharam Rang’, which saw the statuesque Padukone, in an orange bikini stoked controversy fanned the embers of outrage even more as right-wing politicians slammed her for wearing saffron – a colour closely associated with a certain religion. But there’s more to this film than its calls for boycott in certain pockets in India over wardrobe choices. For starters, it’s King Khan’s first release as a leading hero in a major Bollywood film after a gap of four years. For an actor in a prolific industry like Bollywood that churns out films with rabid intensity, a gap like this could be career suicide. But not for Khan, whose absence has only made his legions of fans crave his comeback.

Plus, Bollywood as an industry is going through an underwhelming phase where conventional star-driven vehicles don’t guarantee a monstrous hit at the box-office. But Khan and his brand of films usually defy conventions. Apparently, several cinema halls in India that were shut down due to COVID-19 will re-open for ‘Pathaan’, a nod to their collective faith in Khan’s bombastic star power and his ability to pull in crowds. As ‘Pathaan’, produced by Aditya Chopra’s Yash Raj Films and directed by Sidharth Anand, gears up to release in the cinemas globally on Wednesday, here’s a look at the top reasons why you should watch this film before you head to the UAE cinemas on January 25:

The return of the King Khan? When it comes to charm, charisma, and cracking screen presence, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is at the top of the heap. But this self-made star -- who has been this long-enduring portrait of a perfect romantic hero material -- has been on a self-imposed sabbatical since his 2018 misfire ‘Zero’. Barring his acting cameo in Bollywood fantasy adventure ‘Brahmastra’, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, Khan has famously kept his head down and focused on recharging his batteries. The end result? All eyes are on ‘Pathaan’ and whether he will rock the titular role in which he plays a deadly spy. It’s safe to say that this action-spectacle is a significant film in Khan’s career and its success or failure has the power to alter his career graph.

In a video shared by producers, Khan claims his titular character is “an easy guy, doing a lot of tough things and I think he’s naughty and tough, but he doesn’t wear it on his sleeve. He’s trusting. He’s honest and I think he very single-mindedly thinks of India is his mother.” The last sentence is a telling one and reflects today’s viewing patterns and cultural shift among movie-mad Indians. Any film which boasts a central hero wearing his unabashed patriotism and love for his motherland on his sleeve has the potential to curry favour and set the Bollywood box-office on fire. In ‘Pathaan’, Khan plays an undercover super-agent who’s called to save India from the clutches of a deadly terrorist leader (John Abraham).

King Khan realises his ultimate dream with ‘Pathaan’: This 57-year-old actor, may have found instant fame and glory as playing that ultimate romantic on-screen boyfriend/husband in his films, but Khan claims being an action hero has always been his dream. “I came to the film industry 32 years ago to be an action hero but I missed the boat because they made me a romantic hero instead. I have only wanted to be an action hero. I mean I love DDLJ and I love Rahul and Raj an all these good sweet boys but I always thought I was an action hero, so for me it’s a dream come true,” said Khan.

‘Pathaan’ is a star-fueled spectacle: It’s not just Khan who’s the star attraction of this action-adventure. Deepika Padukone, who made her Bollywood debut with Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Om Shanti Om’, re-unites with her career’s first Hindi film hero for ‘Pathaan’. The two have given us epic Bollywood blockbusters including ‘Chennai Express’ and Happy New Year’. Bollywood’s eternal hunk and former model John Abraham also plays a crucial role. He plays Jim, the antagonist in this stunt-filled bonanza. “Jim is cool. Jim is dangerous and Jim brings back the old John Abraham from Dhoom! I totally love the action sequences of ‘Pathaan’ because most of them are mobile. One sequence was of course on motorcycles in the snow, one was on a truck so again we were moving, the third is in the air which is wow, fantastic,” said Abraham in a video, released by the producers.

Dubai plays a starring role in ‘Pathaan’: If you want to gauge a film’s ambition and scale, its shooting locations should give us a broad hint. ‘Pathaan’, which will release in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil, was shot in eight countries including the UAE, Spain, Turkey, Russia and Siberia, Italy, France, India, and Afghanistan. In the trailer, you can spot the main actors executing gravity-defying stunts in the Downtown Dubai area and more. It’s not the first time that Khan has showcased Dubai in his film. Director Farah Khan’s ‘Happy New Year’ was extensively shot in this region and was a blockbuster. Incidentally, the makers claim that ‘Pathaan’ is the first Indian film to be shot at the frozen lake of Baikal in Siberia. “We have shot a high speed bike chase sequence on the stunning frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia!. Every equipment need to shoot this high risk sequence had to be shipped from Moscow which is almost 2000 kms away from where we were shooting,” said Anand in a press note.

Orange is the new 'red flag'? When the risqué song ‘Besharam’ from ‘Pathaan’ released, we expected Padukone’s skimpy beachwear and Khan's bulging, bronzed muscles to be subject to intense scrutiny. We expected their racy outfits and suggestive choreography to stoke outrage . But it was not their scanty clothing that had the culture guardians in a twist. We simply did not anticipate that the colour of Padukone's bikini would raise red flags among certain political factions in India. Choosing saffron, a colour associated with a religion in India, did not go down well with several right-wing politicians and conservative movie buffs. While the song was deemed controversial from the word go, it didn’t stop Bollywood song-spectacle lovers from checking out the song. While the actors and makers of 'Pathaan' have been tight-lipped about the widespread outrage, Padukone claimed that ‘Besharam Rang’ and ‘Jhoome Jo Pathaan’ remains her absolute favourite songs. “Both of the songs are my favourite, I think it’s very difficult to choose as both are very different, and of course, for ‘Besharam Rang’ I worked a lot harder. That’s sort of in a way my solo song. The location we were shooting at was difficult because even though the song looks really summer-y and bright and beautiful, it was actually freezing and extremely windy. So we were working in very, very difficult conditions. And to make it look beautiful and sunny was the tough part,” said Padukone in a tailored video.

Shah Rukh Khan proves age is just a number: Think of an average 57-year-old Indian male and now picture Shah Rukh Khan in the songs ‘Besharam Rang’ and ‘Jhoome Jo Pathaan’ where you see his gleaming eight-pack bronzed torso. Apart from following strict regimen involving weight-lifting, cardio, circuit, strength training, and protein rich diet, Khan and Padukone learned jujutsu -- a deadly Japanese martial arts form to pull of the action sequences.

Now that you have all the information under your belt about Khan and Padukone's new film, you can watch it in UAE cinemas starting January 25th. Will Khan make or break the box-office with this one?