The much-awaited spy thriller marks Khan’s grand return to the big screen after a four-year hiatus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Analysts say the film, which released on Wednesday, is already on track to become the first big hit of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some have critiqued the film’s plot – calling it over the top and silly – but others said that Khan had managed to revive his magic on the silver screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Bollywood is back. Shah Rukh Khan is back,” film reviewer Shubhra Gupta wrote in her review for The Indian Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pathaan also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in lead roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The film tells the exhilarating tale of Pathaan, a suave Indian spy played by Khan, who is on a mission to stop a group of terrorists from attacking India. Its trailer, which dropped on January 10, has been watched more than 50 million times on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The film released in nearly 8,000 screens worldwide<\/a>, the biggest opening for a Bollywood film, according to analyst Taran Adarsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exhibitors said they had to add new shows to their schedules to meet the demand. And on Wednesday, Khan tweeted that 25 single screen theatres had re-opened in northern Indian to screen the film, after they were shut down during the Covid-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pathaan also saw a record number of advance bookings. Ticketing platform BookMyShow told news agency PTI<\/a> that the audience response had been “phenomenal” with over one million tickets booked by Monday itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The film has mostly received glowing reviews so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms Gupta said it was a dazzling affair of “non-stop action, leavened by glamorous leads, topped by the guy who can save the world, a high-octane set piece and an emo line at a time”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Film critic Deepanjana Pal, who writes for the website FilmCompanion, called Pathaan “a hero for today’s India” who brings familiar gestures to the role but in new and different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The romantic hero is gone, replaced by an older, scruffier man who is determined to fulfil the responsibilities placed up him by his circumstances,” she wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some, however, felt that parts of the film were over-the-top and unrealistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Deepika](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/9DC7\/production\/_128419304_pathan.jpg\")