Pathaan Movie Review

Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone-starrer have finally got what’s needed in a spy thriller -non-stop action, glamorous leads, the guy who can save the world, a high-octane set piece, and an emo line at a time.

First thing, Bollywood is back. Shah Rukh Khan is back. Hindi movies have been constructing the ‘desi’ equivalents of the Bond-Bourne franchise for a while now. Tiger has been ‘Zinda’ in a pacy double-bill, Agent Vinod has done his bit, and BellBottom has flexed and flared, but it is ‘Pathaan’ which has got the spy movie-laced-with-heavy-doses-of-patriotism bouncing off the screen, with Shah Rukh Khan acing the action avatar, flaunting the floppy-hair-glinting-aviators-eight packs (or is it twelve?) look.

Pathan Movie Overview

Director	Siddharth Anand
Screenplay	Shridar Raghavan
Story	Siddharth Anand
Dialogue	Abbas Tyrewala
Cinematography	Satchith Paulose
Production	Yash Raj Films
Movie Cast	Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia, Ashutosh Rana
Estimated Budget	250 crores
Movie Review	3 stars

Pathaan Story

Expanding Yrf’s spy universe (previously led by Salman Khan’s Tiger & Hrithik Roshan’s Kabir), the film is an origin story of an ex-army man turned undercover agent Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan) and his arch nemesis, Jim (John Abraham).

Pathaan Movie Review

An event film of sorts, since it marks Shah Rukh Khan’s return to the big screen after four long years, Pathaan is an ambitious action thriller that plays to the gallery and lives up to the hype. Far-fetched in writing but high on star power and style, Pathaan initially seems like a filmy Mountain Dew commercial that slowly but steadily finds its footing.

The plot follows India’s revocation of article 370 (special status of Jammu and Kashmir) and its impact on a Pakistani officer, who wants India to pay for this ‘mistake’. He reaches out to the formidable Jim, an Ex-RAW agent wronged by his own people. He is joined by his ravishing accomplice Rubai an ex-ISI agent (Deepika Padukone) with ambiguous motives. Pathaan, Jim, and Rubai lock eyes and horns, as they hop continents and indulge in a dangerous game of betrayal and revenge. The three races to destroy and protect the worlds they believe in.

Director Siddharth Anand gives an over-the-top treatment to his spy thriller. He presents it more like a superhero film that needs the massive suspension of disbelief. His fascination and fanboy worship of mainstream Hollywood blockbusters like Marvel films or Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible series to name a few is evident here. Expect Falcon-like wingsuits, exaggerated action & chase sequences, death and gravity-defying stunts on cars, bikes, ice, and helicopters, immortal heroes and villains mouthing punchy dialogues, a femme fatale and all of this seeped in the idea of patriotism.

Action overrides emotions for most of the film, which is new territory for SRK, who is most loved in romantic or conversational roles. It’s interesting how he lets his body do the talking along with those powerfully evocative eyes at 57, as a full-fledged action hero. It is his presence that salvages an average script and subpar VFX.

While the background score doesn’t feel in sync with the scenarios, the film’s music by Vishal & Shekhar reflects the heroism and bravado on display. Pathaan’s highlight is also John Abraham’s solid portrayal of Jim. Be it his Bane-like masked entry or stunt sequences, John is menacing and makes a classic case of the villain overshadowing the hero in portions.

Deepika Padukone can kick ass and is perfectly cast as the dutiful, double-crossing, morally ambiguous leggy agent but her chemistry with SRK feels underdeveloped. It lacks the spark that John-SRK’s characters share. Dimple Kapadia does a Tenet once again and lends that much-needed gravitas and emotional heft to the proceedings.

You wish other characters exuded the sincerity of her part. The YRF spy universe reunites Karan and Arjun (wink wink) to give you an iconic whistle moment as Bhai meets the Badshah. If you are willing to overlook the frivolity in dialogues like ‘You are pretty screwed’, Pathaan has all the ingredients of a masala potboiler — slow-mo entries, iconic battle of good versus bad, and most importantly, a sexy-smoldering Shah Rukh Khan, who can fight the good fight on and off the screen. He’s still the undisputed King.

Pathaan Official Trailer | Shah Rukh Khan | Deepika Padukone | John Abraham

Salman Khan's cameo in Pathaan steals the show

The YRF spy universe reunites Karan and Arjun to give you an iconic whistle moment as Bhai meets the Badshah.

The cameo appearance by the Bollywood superstar as his famous character “Tiger” was met with the loudest cheers. Many people were looking forward to seeing Salman Khan in the spy action movie, but even they were surprised when he showed up out of the blue. When Shah Rukh Khan's character, Pathaan, was being mercilessly beaten by the bad guys, Tiger appeared out of nowhere to save him. As SRK's character fights off the villains, the RAW agent offers assistance, teasing the audience with his signature checked scarf from his movie “Tiger Zinda Hai."

Bollywood movie fans are happy to see two big stars collaborating with each other, as it indicates that they are finally setting aside their egos and joining hands to give the fans a great cinematic experience. Some reports also say that Shahrukh Khan might make a cameo appearance in the next Salman Khan movie.

Pathan is being called “Shahrukh Khan’s best action movie”

Shahrukh Khan is best recognized for his romantic comedic roles. But Pathan has successfully shown that he has the right skills and dexterity to be a full-on action hero.

The movie is enjoyable in its first half. Even so, the plot has a lot of twists and turns that will keep you interested. The excitement remains constant during the second half as well. For the first time, Shah Rukh Khan is portrayed as an action hero and does amazing action. The fight between John and Shahrukh is quite interesting. Deepika Padukone, who is seen performing incredible action, is the surprise package.

Pathaan’s highlight is also John Abraham’s solid portrayal of Jim. Be it his Bane-like masked entry or stunt sequences, John is menacing and makes a classic case of the villain overshadowing the hero in portions.

IMDb Rating

The IMDb users gave Pathaan a 7.1 rating. It seems that a section of moviegoers isn't satisfied with the film that much. However, Shah Rukh's Pathaan outperformed Prabhas' Baahubali, Yash's KGF Chapter 2, and Allu Arjun's Pushpa at the box office when it comes to Day 1 collection. Fans are celebrating Pathaan's triumph as it reached the 50-crore mark on its first day.