LOVE, ACTION, COMEBACK

Pathaan, an out-and-out action film, has become a love story between Shah Rukh Khan and the people of India

- POOJA BIRAIA JAISWAL

After four years of a no-show preceded by four years of damp squibs, it seemed that King Khan’s reign had ended. Social media, with a troll’s soul, was abuzz with comments like, “The guy is three years short of 60; he is old and wrinkled. It is time for him to hang up his boots, sit back and watch as others take over.” Even Shah Rukh Khan, in his 35th year in showbiz this year, thought as much. “I was told nobody wanted to watch me anymore and that my films won’t work. So, I thought of an alternate career: cooking Italian food. I thought I would start a restaurant and name it Red Chillies [after his production house] food eatery,” he said recently, his signature self-deprecating humour on display. And then came Pathaan. It was a validation like no other for the ‘Baadshah of Bollywood’in a renewed avatar—an action hero, with long, flowing locks, eightpack abs chiselled to perfection and a sharp jawline. Pathaan soon became a watershed event in the history of Hindi cinema—the first Hindi film to enter the ₹100 crore club on day one of release (January 25). And, with a worldwide collection of ₹832.20 crore in 12 days, it was all set to cross the Golden Globe award-winning RRR’s record in the US.