Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Pathan’
The story of a son of India who put country before himself Pathan A crowd pleaser that marks Shah Rukh Khan’s return to the action genre with new toys and a lot of bombast. Back after a hiatus, SRK is on form in the larger-than-life space of Yash Raj Banner’s burgeoning detective universe where the writers pick threads from the real world and push them forward. Escape speed
Here, director Siddharth Anand weaves current affairs such as the abrogation of Article 370, Pakistan’s focus on Kashmir, biowarfare and mysterious viral attacks into a spectacle without secrets that are reserved for the thinly veiled. Provides fans of Hollywood detective agents. Something clever Desi Things to be happy about.
Moving at breakneck speed to locations around the world, it’s about an aging Indian secret agent (Shah Rukh) who assembles a team of retired agents to go where red tape doesn’t stick. Their fight is against an insider named Jim (John Abraham) who has gone rogue and has teamed up with a Pakistani general to destroy India. Along the way, Pathan meets Rubina (Deepika Padukone), an ISI agent whose fashion sense is clear, but her designs are ambiguous.
Writers Sridhar Raghavan and Abbas Tyrwala (Dialogues) combine Shahrukh’s genetic material with the screenplay to create some mouth-watering dialogues. PathanDetermination, Courage and Compassion. With Shah Rukh, it’s not just about Brown as he brings his trademark wit, irreverence and self-deprecating humor, differentiating Pathan from Tiger and Kabir, the other agents roaming around. Only Shah Rukh can make painkillers out of chewing gum.
Rather than locating the villain in a particular religion or country, the authors present a world where terrorism is corporatized and the services of mercenaries are available to the highest bidder. This is the racist enemy who has no shame in flattering humanity Shameless color, the so-called controversial song in the film, suggests. More importantly, the film explores the definition of nationalism in terms of how you view your country, your mother, or your lover.
Just like in the good old days, the writers have given the villain without a surname a great back story, and given the hero license to put him in that right place. He has delicately blended the personal with the political. For example, the Pakistani general, who has evil intentions against India, is battling cancer. Interestingly, there is no mention of America in the geopolitics of the narrative, Russia is an indispensable ally and an orphaned Pathan (Shah Rukh Khan) finds his identity during a mission in Afghanistan. Also, the film avoids painting every Pakistani with the same brush and makes a distinction between political interests and the global crisis.
In Macho Space, Siddharth has created solid platforms for the female characters. Dimple Kapadia is imposing as the Pathan boss who doesn’t let emotions get in the way of duty. And between the good and the bad, Deepika comes as a shimmering shade of grey. He is not only attractive but also dangerous. Together, Shah Rukh and Deepika are like Kapoor and Sholay who threaten to set the screen on fire with their chemistry where grace meets menace.
The case of an Indian and Pakistani agent reminds us. Tiger Series, And provides material for one of the film’s many inside jokes that kind of go over the top. Veer ZaraGender equality between the two countries in Hindi cinema. Salman Khan’s cameo in Chalti Train is a kind of bonus for the fans. I wish we had more to chew between the lines.
Giving one of his best performances in the last few years, John proved to be a strong match for Shah Rukh. It’s not just the abdominal muscles. It provides a filmy breath of cool air.
More than the political layers, the makers are interested in putting together engaging action sequences. Shot in almost every possible mode of transportation, they are a step ahead of what we’ve seen in Bollywood before, but the computer-generated imagery isn’t smooth, and the lack of internal logic is sometimes surprising. It happens. The complete lack of surprise in the way some conflicts are resolved leaves one frustrated. Also, some scenes and plot devices sound like Hindi dubs of sequels lifted from Hollywood tentpoles, making them feel generic and plastic.
Siddharth focuses heavily on choreographing action, often leaving emotions hanging by a thread, but it’s the individual charm of the actors that makes up for the lack of a strong emotional core. Not surprisingly, at the beginning of the film, a scientist says, Science is simple; Love is hard.
Pathan is currently playing in theaters.
