Expanding
Yrf’s spy universe
(previously led by Salman Khan’s Tiger & Hrithik Roshan’s Kabir), the film
is an origin story of an ex-army man turned undercover agent Pathaan (Shah Rukh
Khan) and his arch nemesis, Jim (John Abraham).Shah Rukh Khan
and Deepika Padukone-starrer has finally got what’s needed in a spy thriller --
non-stop action, glamorous leads, the guy who can save the world, a high-octane
set piece, and an emo line at a time.
Hindi
Movies have
been constructing the ‘desi’ equivalents of the Bond-Bourne franchise for a
while now. Tiger has been ‘zinda’ in a pacy double-bill, Agent Vinod has done
his bit, Bell Bottom has flexed and flared, but it is ‘Pathaan’ which has got
the spy movie-laced-with-heavy-doses-of-patriotism bouncing off the screen,
with Shah Rukh Khan acing the action avatar, flaunting the
floppy-hair-glinting-aviators-eight packs (or is it twelve?) look.
The
Plot follows India’s revocation of article
370 (special status of Jammu and Kashmir) and its impact on a Pakistani
officer, who wants India to pay for this ‘mistake’. He reaches out to the
formidable Jim, an Ex-RAW agent wronged by his own people. He is joined by his
ravishing accomplice Rubai an ex-ISI agent (Deepika Padukone) with ambiguous
motives. Pathaan, Jim and Rubai lock eyes and horns, as they hop continents and
indulge in a dangerous game of betrayal and revenge. The three race to destroy
and protect the worlds they believe in.
The very svelte Deepika Padukone, matching SRK stride for
stride, giving stiff competition to Katrina Kaif, who kicked serious ass
in Tiger 2. There’s also Dimple Kapadia, building on her blink-and-miss-role in
Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’, as the foxy Moneypenny equivalent. And the chief
antagonist, played by John Abraham, who manages to make the most of his
lines.
Director Siddharth Anand gives an over-the-top treatment to his spy thriller. He presents it more like a superhero film that needs massive suspension of disbelief. His fascination and fanboy worship of mainstream Hollywood blockbusters like Marvel films or Tom Cruise Mission Impossible series to name a few, is evident here. Expect Falcon like wingsuit, exaggerated action & chase sequences, death and gravity-defying stunts on cars, bikes, ice and helicopters, immortal heroes and villains mouthing punchy dialogues, a femme fatale and all of this seeped in the idea of patriotism.
The plot involves a slew of spies,
sardonic RAW chiefs (Ashutosh Rana), evil ISI generals and gun-toting
terrorists inhabiting global hotspots. Pakistan is back eyeing Kashmir (it will
never learn, will it). One of India’s own, Jim (John Abraham) has gone rogue.
Gorgeous ISI agent Rubina (Deepika Padukone) is as at home in a bikini as she
is in skin-tight spandex. A deadly virus, much more dangerous than Covid 19, is
being cooked up in top-secret labs. There’s clear and present danger, and
desh-ke-dushman crawling all over the landscape. But breathe easy, because
India’s best and bravest, Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan) is at hand.
Action overrides emotions for major part of the film and that’s
new territory for SRK, who is most loved in romantic or conversational roles.
It’s interesting how he lets his body do the talking along with those
powerfully evocative eyes at 57, as a full-fledged action hero. It is his
presence that salvages an average script and subpar VFX. While the background
score doesn’t quite feel in sync with the scenarios, the film’s music by Vishal
& Shekhar manages to reflect the heroism and bravado on display.
The problem of
carrying off a two-and-half hour film is evident in the places where you stifle
a yawn (yes, it can happen even when everything is galloping along at
break-neck speed). Just so there’s nothing missed out, we have Pathaan and Jim
facing off in the air (many helicopters were hurt in the making of this film),
skimming over ice-floes and under icy water, chasing each other down twisty
roads. There’s some amount of roll-your-eyes silliness, par for the course for
this kind of flick. Plus, the third person mention of ‘Pathaan’ starts getting
tiresome (kitni baar bologe, yaar). Trust us, we got it the first time.
Pathaan’s highlight is also John Abraham’s solid portrayal
of Jim. Be it his Bane like masked entry or stunt sequences, John is menacing and
makes a classic case of the villain overshadowing the hero in portions.
Deepika Padukone can kick ass and is perfectly cast as
the dutiful, double crossing, morally ambiguous leggy agent but her chemistry
with SRK feels underdeveloped. It lacks the spark that John-SRK’s characters
share. Dimple Kapadia does a Tenet once again and lends that much-needed
gravitas and emotional heft to the proceedings. You wish other characters
exuded the sincerity of her part.
The film comes at
a time when Bollywood, and SRK have been under siege. ‘Pathaan’ is that sateek
jawaab of this beleaguered pathaan, who manages multiple feats in his come-back
after a clutch of medium-bad to terrible films : gives it those ones to the
#BoycottBollywood brigade, pulls off the dishy-and-dishevelled look rippling
those abs, give us a laugh-out-loud moment ( I won’t ruin it for you, but it
involves a line from an early SRK character, also in a YRF film, which would
have become eminently meme-worthy if memes were a thing those days) and saves
Bharat Mata.
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