The underlying message is clear: please do not question Shah Rukh Khan’s loyalty to India.
He is Indian, loves his fatherland.
And he will entertain India for as long as possible, applauds Aseem Chhabra.

There is a short epilogue scene at the end of Siddharth Anands Pathan.

Shah Rukh Khan, who plays Pathaan, is seated on a wooden platform that was a train track earlier in the film.

He is accompanied by another superstar of our time, who is a guest in the film.

“That was 30 years ago,” says Shah Rukh. ‘I think maybe it’s time to retire.’

Then the two hint at the various actors who might inherit their superstar status. They soon come to the conclusion that the rest are all gone bachas. For the sake of the nation, the two must not give up. The country wants them and they will stay.

That’s the headline from Yash Raj Films’ Spy Universe production of Pathan.

After a hiatus of almost five years, Shah Rukh Khan is back with a loud, explosive bang. And all the naysayers and paper tigers who tried to write him off, sit down.

Based on a story by Anand and script by Shridhar Raghavan, Pathan is essentially a patchwork of unbelievable – if at times spectacular – action sequences.

It’s like we’re watching Impossible Missionplus the tiger series, plus Warand some MCU movies.

The plot makes so many jumps that it is often difficult to understand where we are, Dubai, Moscow, Afghanistan, Spain or Delhi.

Once a RAW agent, Pathaan is sent by a secret government agency led by Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana to stop a rogue agent Jim (John Abraham) who is now working with Pakistan’s ISI.

Along the way, Pathaan meets Rubina (Deepika Padukone), an adorable ISI agent. She works with Jim, but she seems to have her own mission.

We learn that Rubina is a pretty “good” ISI agent.

The really “evil” ISI group is headed by a certain General Qadir who is mad at India for suspending Article 370 in Kashmir. Qadir, along with Jim, plans to attack India by unleashing an extremely dangerous strain of smallpox over Delhi.

Of course, our Pathaan will save India, chase Jim in different places, fight with Russian guards on a moving train, stop missiles, jump in the air, climb glass towers in Moscow, ride a motorcycle on a frozen lake, etc.

There is also a backstory to Pathaan: a name given to him by an Afghan woman who nursed him while he was in a coma after he joined US forces to fight the Taliban.

Oh, and when he was a kid, his parents left him in a movie theater.

It was India’s love that produced Pathaan.

Since the country has done so much for him, he decided to dedicate his life to India: “Mere desh ne meri parvarish kari, to maine soocha main bhi maa baap ki seva karoon.’

When the message isn’t enough, we hear a version of John F. Kennedy’s famous quote: “Ek soldier yeh nahin poochta hai ki desh ne uske liye kya kiya? Poochta hai woh desh ke liye kya kar sakta hai?‘

The underlying message is also clear: please do not question Shah Rukh Khan’s loyalty to India. He is Indian, loves his fatherland. And he will entertain India as long as he can.

But messages, patriotism and all the action scenes aside, Pathan is a fun experience.

The camera loves the three handsome main actors. Her larger than life screen appearance (I saw the film on an IMAX screen) accounts for two and a half hours Pathan a joy to see.

Shah Rukh struts around with a scruffy look, his long, greasy hair often tied in a man’s bun (the length of his hair varies throughout the film).

He’s charming, sexy, but also works with his piercing eyes, menacing voice, and shows off those six-pack abs.

He has a screen presence unlike any other Bollywood actor, whether it’s dancing, spreading his arms, getting confused trying to read Rubina’s intentions, or engaging in brutal fights.

Deepika, a cue from kill Bill‘s The Bride (Uma Thurman), uses her slim body to kick and fight the bad guys, and then looks so cool dancing to the film’s two hits, Besharam rank and Jhoome Jo Pathan. At a nightclub in Moscow, she shows her seductive best while trying to get an uncle-like agent’s fingerprints.

John Abraham has a solid role as Pathaan’s nemesis.

At 50, his body and rugged face are a good match for Shah Rukh’s 57-year-old physique.

The first day first show I attended felt no different than Rajnikanth film screenings in Tamil Nadu.

The audience cheered, whistled and clapped throughout the film.

Then in the end when Jhoome Jo Pathan was playing on the screen, a group of young men suddenly started dancing in front of the screen.

It felt like one Nattu Nattu Moment in the heart of Noida.

Pathan review Rediff Rating: