Pathaan is an energetic spy film with all of the style of Bollywood films bringing the spotlight back to Shah Rukh Khan! It is a combination of James Bond (specific movies), Fast and Furious, and Mission Impossible! Pathaan is part of the YRF Spy Universe, a shared universe of spy films (!), it started with Ek Tha Tiger (2012), which introduced RAW agent, Avinash “Tiger” Singh Rathore played by Salman Khan. Then, the sequel, Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), before it became a universe with War (2019). The third movie brought in Major Kabir Dhaliwal (Hrithik Roshan) and Colonel Sunil Luthra (Ashutosh Rana). Pathaan brings in Shah Rukh Khan who will reprise the role in Tiger 3, later this year, with Salman Khan. It is directed with a story by Siddharth Anand whom also directed and co-wrote the story for War. The film begins in Pakistan, 2019, General Qadir (Manish Wadhwa) is given a cancer diagnosis. Then, he informed that India has revoked Article 370 which gave independence to the Kashmir region.
Qadir decides to deal with India bringing in Jim (John Abraham). The actor starred and wrote the story for the sci fi movie, Attack Part 1 (2022). He is the almost sympathetic leader of a military group called Outfit X. Three years later, “Somewhere in Africa”, Jim is shown a missile that can’t be detected. I do like the James Bond international spy part. Then, he is told the prisoner is “getting special treatment.” We find the prisoner chained to a chair and struck repeatedly. Still, he tells his interrogator, Raafe (Rajat Kaul) what will happen in five seconds. The prisoner swings his head into the light, dramatic reveal!, and we see that it is Pathaan played by Shah Rukh Khan. He asks, “Where is Rubina?” Then, Pathaan goes into action mode taking on several soldiers, until he gets hold of two pipes as weapons. During the fight, he chains Raafe to the skid of a helicopter, pilots it, but the hangar door closes. Pathaan doesn’t pause to escape with Raafe hanging from the helicopter!
New Delhi, India, we have Nandini (Dimple Kapadia) informed about a “red flag”, Rubia has been found in Paris. Kapadia was in Brahmanstra Part One: Shiva (2022). Two years earlier at a military hospital, Paathan is given a metal plate on his shoulder after so much injuries. This shows him as a hero with vulnerabilities. Paathan is gathering the agents who were retired by injury or trauma into a new unit, Joint Operation and Covert Research (JOCR). The head of JOCR, Nandini sees a holgram of Colonel Sunil Luthra (Ashutosh Rana), RAW joint secretary. Rana was in War. He is unnoticed by Nandini and she is not flattering in what she thought was a hologram. Luthra does not have a high opinion of JOCR and he debriefs the unit on several strikes by Outfit X. In Dubai, the President of India is giving a keynote speech with two scientists. Paathan suspects that Outfit X will go after the president.
On the Dubai streets, a man walks out with a skull-like mask, this is very like the black-masked assassin in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). He launches a rocket at the truck carrying the scientists. The unknown man uses a helicopter lift cable to transfer Dr. Sahani (Prakash Belawadi) to a black Humvee. Pathaan is racing in a gold sports car, but it is struck by the Humvee and we get a slo mo flip. It is of course Jim and he ends up fighting Pathaan on the roof of a truck container Matrix Reloaded (2003)-style. It is of course Jim, who finally faces Paathan and shows him his Bravery Award. Jim says he was her (India’s) lover and Pathaan is her son. He escapes on a helicopter. Luthra later debriefs Pathaan on Jim, he was a successful RAW agent, but was captured by Somali pirates. He was tortured, hung upside down, as his wife carrying his child is threatened.
Luthra refuses to pay the ransom and Jim loses his family! The ex-government agent turning against his fellow spies and country is out of Sean Bean’s 006 in Goldeneye (1995). It really seems that ransom payment is a JOCR decision, not a national one, their deaths are really due to Luthra. There is no payback for his inaction. Pathaan discovers the name of an unknown weapon named Raktbeej. A JOCR tech has tracked payments to a Pakistani woman, Dr. Rubina Mohsin, who is currently in Spain. It is a party scene by the beach in Spain where Pathaan sees Rubina (Deepika Padukone) who sings “Besharam Rang” as she eyes Pathaan. It is surprisingly one of the few songs in the movie! Most doctors don’t sing in bikinis and pose on a beach. This is not just showcasing Padukone's beauty, Pathaan shows up shirtless to show his abs, while he enters Rubina’s room to check her laptop.
Next, we see Rubina in an orange dress so this party must be over several days and she leads Pathaan like a Bond Girl to cave. Rubina takes off her skirt down to a bikini and leaps into a pool. Past a pillar, we see Jim is also in the pool! They are surrounded by gunmen and Jim talks to Pathaan back to back. He offers Pathaan to work with them, but his refusal has Jim say he lost his wager. Jim boards a helicopter and leaves. Rubina suddenly starts taking down the Outfit X men. Pathaan watches amused and only takes out one of the henchmen. More soldiers head towards them so Rubina and Pathaan take cover behind a garden wall. She explains that she has been under cover for a year. Also, Rubina shows Pathaan that she is shot in the side. Still, they manage to escape the gunmen.
We get Rubina’s memory of herself as a young girl when her father is killed. She wakes up and Pathaan explains that she was out for eighteen hours. Rubina says her father was a journalist in the Middle East when he was killed. Later, we find out Pathaan’s backstory which drives his character. She says Raktbeej is in Moscow and they pose as a married couple in the hotel across from a tower. This is said by Pathaan to be impervious and Vault 412 has keys separated by twelve kilometers. They are held by Aunty Karen and Uncle Grigor. This is the Mission: Impossible aspect of the movie. Pathaan has a shared universe of great action with a trio of charismatic leads, some back story for the characters, comedy, and the songs and dancing of the best of Bollywood!
Four Bravery Awards out of Five!
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