Pathaan (2023)

Pathaan is called a “High Octane Spy Thriller” from the stables of Yash Raj Films and it proves to be every bit of it…..

But first let’s get a few things out of the way….

The story is nothing more than a testosterone driven rehash of a bunch of Mission Impossible movies presented by getting an ensemble cast like The Fast and the Furious franchise.

The movie is filled with gravity defying stunts and a logic defying script.

The action sequences are pulled right out of the James Bond handbook including the chase on thin ice.

But…..and this is a BIG But (single T, stop giggling) …..if you haven’t cribbed about the Tom Cruise franchise, if you didn’t raise your eyebrows when our Hollywood Adityanath clone went apeshit crazy, if you enjoyed the “Bond James Bond” bravado and you drooled when a JR NTR picked up a bike and hurled it on an incoming Britisher (with the rider), then you have absolutely no business cribbing about this movie.

Because as far as a cinematic experience is concerned …. Siddharth Anand has absolutely aced it.

The movie is a total mass fest…..seeti maar entries, taalimaar dialogues, exotic locales, beautiful long shots, terrific pace, the sexiest looking starcast ever….(damn even Ashutosh Rana looked a wee sexy) and club all this with the Shah Rukh Khan charm.

The first half is kind of sketchy and frankly I began to lose interest but by the start of the second half it was all fun and games.

The best kept secret entirely unnecessary cameo (lol everyone knows about this but people still crib about spoilers) lifts up the entire movie and from there on it is a fantastic action movie.

Of the star cast, everyone looks amazing on screen. They have even made John Abraham act. He has added one more expression to his list of acting expressions…”evil grin”….now he can do two expressions in total.

The references to the other Spyverse movies like War and Tiger are cute and will make you smile.

For the “intellectual movie goers” from an intelligent jerk off point of view, the only message this movie offers is “Pay those Rs. 250 for the ticket and have a ball”

Not every movie needs to be a Masaan.

Despite the lackluster predictable story and the liberal dose of jingoism, Pathan brings back to the theaters the much needed entertainment and the entertainment lusting audience.

One piece of advice…..do not get up and start walking out when the credits start rolling with the “Jhoome Jo Pathaan” song….wait right till the end….the final post song scene is most enjoyable.