Introduction
Shahrukh Khan is back after four long years in the fifth instalment of the YRF Spy Universe, Pathaan. Along with SRK, the film stars Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana in the lead roles with Diganta Hazarika, Ekta Kaul and Shaji Choudhary in supporting roles. Salman Khan makes a cameo appearance as well! I remember an interview of Sid (Siddharth) Anand, where he says that he cannot make films which would change the way people think. Instead he can take people on a ride. He went on to say that his films are like food served in a restaurant, something which isn't life changing, but definitely gives the consumers a good time and most importantly, the bang for their buck. And after watching Pathaan, all I can say that Siddharth Anand is a man of his words!
Basic Plot
After the Indian Government revoked the Article 370 (which gave special status to Kashmir), a cancer ridden Pakistani general appoints a contractual terrorist group to seek revenge on India.
Positives
Performances
Performances in an action film are generally one dimensional, but they're commendable in Pathaan; the show stealer being John Abraham. He has really shown his worth as an action star in this film. The way he carries out the ruthless character of Jim is a major highlight in the film, and it's probably the only time when a Siddharth Anand has such a strong villain. Shahrukh portrays the character Pathaan quite well, by capturing and delivering the essence of a character who is stylish and ruthless at the same time, being very different from Tiger and Kabir (other lead spy characters in the universe). Dimple kapadia and Ashutosh Rana have done well, while Deepika Padukone has been able to leave her mark despite being given a generic character, that has meat but lacks depth. The supporting cast does performs decently and the overall performances give this film the exact tone it needed.
Direction and Writing
While the story in particular is just passable and nothing groundbreaking at all, it's the screenplay by Shridhar Raghavan that makes a whole lot of difference. The writing has a pulpy touch in typical Shridhar Raghavan fashion without a single boring minute whatsoever, because a non linear screenplay in an action film feels just right. It's tight, engaging, a bit edgy in places but very taut overall. The screenplay combined with the direction by Siddharth Anand has proved to be a winner of a combo for this film. The casting of John Abraham and the utilization of his straight-faced and limited emotion attitude to design a morally dead character (courtesy, an emotional back story) who only seeks vengeance is a cool conceptualization. Things become all the more interesting when this villain character played by John Abraham is pitted against a super spy character (SRK) who is an orphan and has no proper identity apart from being an Indian citizen. The sharp contrast between both the characters, and an even better juxtaposition between the two, make for an absolute feast for action film fans. The dialogues by Abbas Tyrewala are pretty cheesy in particular, but when combined with the big budget that this film has, they're no less than larger than life epic catchphrases which are bound to generate seeti maar moments in the theatres. The overall direction by Siddharth Anand has been great and he has again shown how a tight screenplay and terrific execution can significantly elevate a simple story.
Action, Music and Cinematography
The action department has hit things out of the park. The action directors have given it their all and the results are brilliant. Although some of the stunts may seem like distant cousins to popular Hollywood action sequences owing to the action directors Casey O' Neill and Craig Macrae being associated (apart from Pathaan) with Top Gun: Maverick, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Mad Max Fury Road, director Siddharth Anand has wisely included Sunil Rodrigues in the board of action directors as well to skillfully deliver Hollywood level action with a desi packaging! Not only the stylish stunts but the gritty hand to hand combats pump a lot of organic adrenaline as well. A special mention to the 1 minute single take action scene centralized around Shahrukh in a moving train, which is damn well choreographed and executed! The music department does a fine job with only two songs in the film that doesn't bother the screenplay at all. The background score by Sanchit and Ankit Balhara has been awesome. Separate power packed theme songs have been designed for both the lead characters that elevate their overall presence in the film. OG Shahrukh fans are going to be smitten with the song that plays during Shahrukh's entry sequence in the film; such a goosebump worthy metaphorical rock anthem it is! I'm surprised to see the cinematographer Satchith Paulose creating such an impact in his very first feature film. He has literally broken all the traditional rules of cinematography to present the viewers with an experience that is to die for. Game like camera movements, hand-held shots during combats, dutch angles, the camera work has it all. The action-synched camera movements are super sleek and boy oh boy, they're carried out in some fashion!
Underwhelming Aspects
Pacing, VFX and a weakly written character
While the editing by Aarif Sheikh has been crisp and fast paced, the film is somehow very quick overall. The quick pacing makes the already non linear screenplay hard to follow in some places. The screenplay deals with three different timelines (2019, 2020 and 2022) in the film and a proper switching between those was needed at any cost. The makers could've easily pulled off a Kill Bill by dividing the screenplay into chapters (based on timelines); but that remained far from happening and it's an opportunity missed in the worst way possible. Also, at some places the film feels significantly fast and hurried, majority of which had to be done to cover up the bad VFX work in some places. The Dubai action sequence, for instance; looking at the action choreography and stunts, one could easily say that the entire sequence was terrific on paper, but little did it look like on screen. The VFX work is so shoddy, that the camera was restricted only to close up shots during the entire action scene, making the scene entirely devoid of any tension. The significantly restricted usage of wide angles shots (as that would reveal the terrible VFX) strips off a certain portion of excitement from the film for sure. While it's not something to complain about as the film pampers you with other aspects, the Dubai action scene was the worst affected due to the poor VFX work. Also, Deepika Padukone's character was pretty average for sure. I mean, she does her part quite well, brilliantly pulls off action sequences and is not there just for skin show, but her character surely had to have more depth. She has a positive character arc overall but her backstory does not justify her double crossing nature in the film. To make matters worse, Deepika's Rubai comes in direct competition with Katrina kaif's Zoya in the Tiger franchise, where Katrina's Zoya is miles ahead owing to a strong character writing. While Deepika performs exactly how you would expect a spy to behave, it's the writing that somehow keeps the character stunted in spite of a genuinely good performance by Padukone.
Conclusion
First 6 minutes into the film and you realize that this is something which Shahrukh Khan hasn't done in his 31 year long career even for once! While nobody imagined, even in their wildest dreams, that Shahrukh would pull off a film of this genre, Siddharth Anand has done what Anand L Rai and Imtiaz Ali failed to do; bringing back Shahrukh's lost glory. The treatment of the film has been a roller coaster, with a James Bond of an entry for Shahrukh, John Wick-esque combats and desi dialogue-baazi. He successfully picked up the latent desire of the neutral public, who wanted to watch him in this type of a role, and thus, was pitted against John Abraham; the two-hero combination that we didn't realize we needed to watch at the earliest. Sid Anand made sure to get the basics right and rely on the traditional filmmaking tropes to make a proper action entertainer. The fact that the antagonist is shown to be more powerful (so that the protagonist has a real hard time to win the battle) makes this film a memorable affair for sure. While Pathaan is a 'far from perfect' film, it's the synergy of all the aspects of the film that makes this film special apart from SRK's comeback factor. The way the action is shot, edited and synched with the background score, is truly immersive. In spite of a short run time of 146 minutes, the film generates just the right amount of humor, drama, emotion and thrill that's required and intended. The creative team reaps benefits from the strong escapism quotient that they've skillfully generated in the film, and that makes all the difference. While this is surely not the best film of any of the cast members involved, it's certainly the unique delight that the Hindi Film Industry was trying to produce for so long! It's now SRK 2.0 baby, coz Shahrukh 'ZINDA HAIN!'
Watch Out For
- A smashing Salman Khan cameo as Tiger (setting up the Spy Universe)
- The post credit fourth wall breaker of a banter between the two actors!
- The terrific train action sequence
- Shahrukh's entry
WTF Recommendation
8/10