The King is Back: Pathaan and SRK’s Electrifying Comeback

 

Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. 

-Bertrand Russell

The octane spy thriller movie "Pathaan" is an encounter between a vast drug kingpin and a RAW liaison officer. The action spectacle gets the audience engaged through the characters of the movie coming to life on the big screen. The actions, thrills, suspense and gripping storyline expand YRF's spy universe and offer much more than what we have seen in the trailer. The story ignites the flame of patriotism. The movie remarks on the great comeback of SRK. Also, it ensures its success through collective efforts as SRK provides his co-stars ample room to shine rather than carrying the entire film on his shoulder like a one-man show.

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia, Ashutosh Rana, Salman Khan

Director: Siddharth Anand

Synopsis:

John Abraham as Jim; an antagonist of the movie leads Outfit X, a private terrorist group to hit vengeance against India. Jim's character backstory properly explains his grudge against India and to some extent sympathises with his vengeful desires. Deepika as Rubai plays the role of Pakistani police officer who is also part of the group. The group malevolently planned to kidnap scientists from India who were attending a scientific conference in Dubai to make a virus named Raktabeej which was specially designed to eliminate India. Pathaan, played by SRK, a courageous RAW agent who tries to stop Jim's plan, somehow turns the table against him and ends up eliminating Jim from his falling. The movie is a catfight of strategy adopted by both protagonist and antagonist.

Review:

The story and direction by Siddharth Anand are powerful and packed here with his previous few films. Characters are nicely written with apt dialogues. Pathaan is a devastating comeback of SRK that brings literal fireworks in theatres. As I said earlier, SRK did not just only shine in the movie but also provided importance to other characters. The cameo role of Salman Khan as Tiger fits perfectly in the movie. The camaraderie shared by the two- mighty Khans through the prolonged action sequence just tells us why they are two of the greatest superstars of Indian Cinema. Deepika is not just eye candy and has a lot to do with the storyline. Her chemistry with Pathaan is a sensation. John seemed as if he was born to be a villain and gave vibes to Dhoom 1 in the movie. Not to forget, Dimple's performance was heartwarming and her voice suited her character. She has played the senior officer he reports to. Nandini (Dimple) may also have been Pathaan's mentor. Right from the introduction block of SRK to the fight scene in Spain, the pre-interval block in Russia, the case sequence on ice and the climax, it is all a delight to watch on the big screen.

Flaws and Weakness:

VFX was too shaky and too many cuts middling the fight sequences were irritating. Some funny dialogues were cringe. I wish the movie kept Jim for other instalments of Spy Universe as his personality. However, the story and characters cover flaws of the movie. Overall, the movie is interesting and a good watch.