Why Pathaan is important for Shah Rukh Khan and Bollywood

Siddharth Anand’s action thriller Pathaan, the latest film in the YRF Spy Universe, will hit the marquee on 25 January next year. The film’s teaser promises an action-packed big-screen experience. John Abraham appears to have a meaty role. So does Deepika Padukone. But the focus is on Shah Rukh Khan, King Khan for his millions of fans, who is playing the titular character of a covert operative who has gone missing.

With an unkempt long-haired look, SRK, now 57, continues to have the kind of magnetic screen presence one has always associated with the megastar. The first appearance of his character in the teaser is all it takes to establish why he is such a significant force in Indian entertainment. The film is bound to have a great weekend. More crucially, however, it must become a long-distance runner at the box office.

Most Bollywood films have disappeared in the quicksand of commercial failure in recent times, a disappointing phase that has dragged on for too long. Pre-release hype is rapidly jettisoned by negative feedback, resulting in semi-empty theatres before the first weekend after the release ends.

A potential turning point 

In these troubled times, Ayan Mukerji’s grand fantasy Brahmastra: Shiva – Part I was a rare success despite its reported Rs 400 crore budget. Pathaan is an equally, if not more, important big-budget film whose success can dispel doubts about Bollywood’s inability to make profit earners with the sort of consistency that is essential.

SRK is returning to the big screen in a much-awaited central role after 2018. His last two releases were Imtiaz Ali’s When Harry Met Sejal, a 2017 romantic comedy in which he played a tourist guide. He played a dwarf in Aanand L Rai’s Zero, a 2018 romantic comedy. Neither WHMS nor Zero broke into a merry waltz at the box office. But that won’t hurt Pathaan, whose fate will solely depend on its ability to appeal to the masses.

The megastar has delivered colossal successes in his hit-studded career. He has been the architect of unforgettable memories, among them Abbas-Mustan’s Baazigar, Yash Chopra’s Darr, Dil To Pagal Hai and Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Mohabbatein, Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… and My Name Is Khan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas and Shimit Amin’s Chak De! India. His success story as an actor, plus his presence of mind and articulateness, have contributed to his fan following, which has continued to grow for decades.

These fans should rush to the theatres to watch Pathaan in the initial days of its release simply because their idol will appear in a hero’s role for a long time. The usually competitive Bollywood would be praying that happens because it needs to re-emerge as an industry whose products are widely watched, not repeatedly ignored.

2022: An unusual year 

2022 has been an unusual year in the context of SRK’s career. He has made as many as three special appearances, all of them impactful. He is an interviewer in the Hindi version of R Madhavan’s biographical drama Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. He appears as himself in Advait Chandan’s romantic drama Laal Singh Chaddha. His most substantial appearance is in Brahmastra in which he plays a scientist, who is a member of a secret society called Brahmansh and possesses an ‘astra’ or a weapon called Vanarastra. His few minutes of appearance at the start help the plot gain momentum, resulting in one of the watchable portions of the entire film.

His onscreen appearances in the current year have served as reminders of bigger things to come. 2023 will have as many as three SRK releases, a big number for any Indian actor of significance except Akshay Kumar. Apart from Pathaan, he will appear in Atlee’s action thriller Jawan and Rajkumar Hirani’s comedy-drama, Dunki.

Jawan and Dunki have been making news, too, which is not a surprise. But Pathaan will be the first new release with him in the central role, which makes it a crucial film.

Pathaan must make a strong statement of SRK’s appeal as a megastar like few others in the history of Indian cinema. The teaser is a strong enough indication that the film has what it takes to cast a spell on the average film-goer.

The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed are personal.

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