Pathaan Review - SRK Takes a New Birth As An Action Star In YRF's Mass-Driven Spy Universe

Shah Rukh Khan has been in the industry for three decades, but the wait to see him in a full-fledged action drama finally ends with Pathaan. The idea of a spy universe is exciting since multiple franchise and universe films have caused havoc at the Hindi box office, and this could be our answer to Hollywood and South films. Pathaan gathers a powerhouse cast, high-octane action sequences, and hard-core patriotism, but suffers due to several glitches in the screenplay, VFX, and direction. Nevertheless, it is a full-on mass party for the fans of Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, and Salman Khan. The action mania may be artificial and a little scattered to its core, but it never stops entertaining the action lovers.Pathaan is the story of an Indian Army officer, Pathaan, who has retired from the services but still wants to give everything to the country. He then assembles a team of the officers who were forced to retire owing to an injury to carry out the missions that are impossible for other agencies. Pathaan has to stop a rogue agent, Jim (John Abraham), who has joined hands with the Pakistani general to acquire Kashmir since Article 370 is lifted. Pathaan is acquainted with a female ISI agent, Rubina (Deepika Padukone), to find a deadly virus called Raktabeej. However, there is more to their mission than meets the eye, and this review has to be spoiler-free to keep the surprise elements alive.Pathaan seems like a rip-off of multiple Hollywood spy dramas with Indian flavours. That's pretty casual with all of Siddharth Anand's action films, by the way. He just can't get over it. It probably flows in his blood. Be it the James Bond series, the Mission Impossible series, or Clint Eastwood films, Pathaan has a lot of influences that are years old, but it's still enjoyable for the Indian masses, who are unaware of these flicks. Don't forget, we are living in the KGF generation, so anything larger-than-life is true on the big screen. Of course, entertainment is a different thing, and "CINEMA" is different. Pathaan is more of an entertainment than a cinema. The screenplay will make you realise why. The hero just can't be killed, no matter what happens; the heroine has to be forgiven; the villain has to have a personal agenda against the agency (but instead of killing the agency, he will kill the people who haven't got anything to do with the agency; that's funny); and last but not least, those last-minute survivals and escapes are mandatory. Pathaan is full of them and therefore lacks logic. But tell me, who watches big action event films for logic? KGF would have been a disaster then. We will have to wait for a couple of centuries more to live in that era. So for now, let's enjoy the insanely entertaining mass. Pathaan has so much of it. More than enough.Talking of performances, as we know, this isn't a film where you can see Shah Rukh Khan doing My Name Is Khan. All that an action star image needs is swag and basic dialogue delivery and expressions. Shah Rukh does it. But why the hell did we have to wait for it for three decades? It's late, but at least he kicked off finally. Let's all pray that he continues the same form in Jawan and many future projects (except Dunki). John Abraham presents an equally raw antagonist, and he has a swag of different levels. Those "Dhoom" vibes are missing, but can't blame him for that as the character graph was very different. Deepika Padukone looks hotter than before, right from the first scene till the last. You'll see her in an action avatar, similar to what she did in xXx: Return of Xander Cage and other femme fatale did in Hollywood spy flicks. Ashutosh Rana is unexpectedly bad, and even Dimple Kapadia is wasted. Last but not least, the blasting cameo of Tiger, aka Salman Khan, will turn theatres into stadiums.What Pathaan lacks is intelligence in the basic writing that doesn't wake up from old school classrooms, and moreover, the screenplay takes it even lower. I don't understand why you have to include cheap dialogue during exciting action scenes. They followed the same trend during the romance, which didn't click at all. What was that, RAW and ISI love angle again 11 years after Ek Tha Tiger? Why? Pathaan has adrenaline action rushes that make for a worthy visual treat, but some of them are crushed by artificial values. The VFX is poor in action and explosion scenes, which will make you think about the film's budget again. Did they really spend the money for good? Mission Impossible had better elevation scenes in the 1990s than what we do in 2023. Can't expect Hollywood quality with a Bollywood level budget, but still, give us something to be proud of. Those South fellas are coming with RRR now. It's a warning bell for us.Pathaan has two songs, Besharam Rang and Jhoome Jo Pathaan, and both are decent. The former is a visual phenomenon of glamour and sex appeal, while the latter is more like an anthem song that you usually expect in the end credits. And don't you leave the auditorium because there's another scene that confirms that "Spy-universe Zinda Hai...". The cinematography and background score is captivating and thrilling. Siddharth Anand is stuck in a box of his own, and he continues beating around the bush with his latest flick. But he knows his audience and his film, and he excels at doing what he wants to do. Pathaan is not made for intellectuals, but it's a solid mass party for the masses who have enjoyed films like KGF 2, War, Tiger Zinda Hai, and others. Bollywood has been in need of a big action event film for the last 5-6 years, and here it is. Pathaan should take the masses by storm, and then there will be a bigger extravaganza in Tiger 3 and even bigger when we get our full-fledged spy-universe film. Enough of Avengers: Civil War, Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Let us Hindi cinema viewers have our own cinematic universes.