Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s latest film Pathaan, which releases next week, has been hitting the headlines in India for the past several weeks. Why Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback film is a big deal.
The interest is hardly surprising Khan is among India’s biggest and most-loved stars. Charming, funny and with millions of fans at home and abroad, the actor is often described as Bollywood’s “most important cultural export”, whose popularity travels beyond his films. His fans endearingly refer to him as King Khan or the King of Bollywood.
And Pathaan is his first film after a four-year hiatus. The 57-year-old is making a comeback on the big screen after a series of setbacks in his personal and professional life, including the arrest of his son Aryan Khan last year on fake charges of drug possession the charges were eventually dropped and a number of films didn’t do well.
The gap has piqued interest in Khan and also led to heightened scrutiny of the film, which also stars Deepika Padukone, one of India’s most popular stars, and John Abraham. Starting in December when the filmmakers began releasing promotional videos of Pathaan’s songs, the film has been the subject of incessant chatter on social media.
Reports say there has been an “exceptional response” to advanced ticket sales in the US, UAE, Germany and Australia.
The plot, described by fans as a crossover between James Bond and Mission Impossible films, is rather predictable. A terrorist group is seeking to destroy India with “an attack they could not have imagined”. The authorities scramble to fight them, but time is running out. At stake is the country’s future. So, they put their best man to work.
“If you dare to party at Pathaan’s house, then I will have to come to greet you – with fireworks,” an unmistakable voice sneers at us, as Khan makes an appearance. A suave spy with tousled hair and chiseled biceps and abs, Khan effortlessly takes down enemies, hops on moving vehicles, rappels down skyscrapers, and seduces women while trying to save his nation from evil forces, led by Abraham. A pulsing music track accompanies the shots.
The two-and-half-minute trailer has excited fans and critics alike, who’ve been gushing over the scale of the project. A fan called it a “paisa vasool [value for money] experience”, adding that he would try to catch the film as soon as it was released. But right from the start, Pathaan has been mired in controversies. Khan has had a fair share of troubles with the press and critics in the past. But ever since his comments about growing religious intolerance in India a few years back, the barrage of attacks from Hindu right-wing groups has become more personal and concerted.
“It has acquired a distinctly communal twinge, as they seek to anchor the actor’s image around his religious identity,” says author and film critic Saibal Chatterjee.
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