Pathaan is an action-thriller movie released on January 25th, 2023, starring Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, and Deepika Padukone. The film was directed by Siddharth Anand and written by Shridhar Raghavan and Abbas Tyrewala. Pathaan set a new benchmark for opening weekends with $12.2 Million on its first international release day.
The movie follows Shah Rukh Khan as Pathaan, an Indian spy, and Deepika Padukone as Rubina Mohsin, an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent on their search for John Abraham as Jim, a Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) defector planning to release a deadly virus across India.
According to The Audience…
The movie received mostly positive (61%) reactions from the audience. Pathaan’s action scenes, plot twists, and thrills are the main attractive point of the movie. The movie also received several (39%) negative feedback, primarily related to the inappropriate cultural and religious representation in the film. Positive conversations were about 60.95% on Shah Rukh Khan’s return to the movies after four years with Pathaan, which created hype amongst the audience. The film impressed many of them, and for negative conversations, 39.05% were on the weak storyline and did seem a tad stretched in the second half when you’re longing to reach the climax.
What Makes “Pathaan” Good?
Actions, Twists, and Thrill. The movie has superb action, twists, and thrills of wholesome entertainment. Shah Rukh Khan delivers the best performance in the high-octane action film, and also there is non-stop entertainment. The plot has a lot of twists and turns that will keep you interested.
Salman Khan’s Cameo. One of the movie’s significant highlights is Salman Khan’s surprise cameo appearance as “Tiger” in Pathaan. Tiger is the main character of Ek Kha Tiger (2012) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), which share the same fictional universe as Pathaan, dubbed as Yash Raj Film (YRF) Spy Universe.
Shah Rukh Khan comeback after four years. After four years of hiatus, people were happy to see Shah Rukh Khan on the big screen. His comeback didn’t disappoint – the audience often praised Shah Rukh Khan’s performance in this movie.
Intro of Yash Raj Film (YRF) Spy universe. Pathaan is the fourth installment of the YRF Spy Universe franchise, with all of its predecessors generating positive reviews from the audience. Inspired by Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pathaan is also the first YRF Spy Universe film that introduces a mid-credits ending scene.
What Makes “Pathaan” Bad?
An Indian soldier is portrayed as a terrorist. John Abraham’s character in the movie is an Indian RAW agent dumped by the government and was ready to take revenge. This led some people to claim that the film Pathaan portrayed an Indian soldier as a potential terrorist, which the public felt was offensive.
An actress was wearing a dress offensive to the Hindu culture. “Besharam Rang,” one of the movie soundtrack, featured Deepika Padukone – a Pakistani Muslim woman – wearing a saffron-colored bikini. This triggered the people because a Pakistani Muslim woman was prohibited from wearing a bikini, and the saffron color of the bikini was considered offensive to the Hindu culture. This led many people to boycott the movie, promoting #BoycottPathaan on social media.
A boring second part of the movie. While the film has multiple impactful scenes, some people felt the overall storyline was boring and predictable.
Weak VFX effects – The audience wasn’t impressed with a few scenes from the Pathan due to the weak VFX effects.
Overall, Pathaan is a well-written, action-packed movie. The fifth installment of YRF Spy Universe, “Tiger 3”, is planned to be released in 2023. With Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan cast to reprise their roles, Tiger 3 is expected to attract much attention, especially from the Indian market. Has your brand tapped into the opportunity?
About the author
Amrutha S H, is a junior Insight Analyst at Radarr Technologies. She has done a Bachelors of Engineering in Electronics and Instrumentation. She reviewed Pathaan because it was a recent Bollywood blockbuster, and used the Radarr platform to examine what people were saying about it and how successfully it reached the audience.
