Mumbai: Yash Raj Films on Tuesday dropped the official trailer of the much-anticipated "Pathaan", a spy thriller that marks superstar Shah Rukh Khan's return to leading man roles after 2018's "Zero".
The movie, also starring Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana, is the first major release of Bollywood in 2023 and a lot is riding on its performance at the box office after a dismal 2022.
The actor, who plays the titular spy in the upcoming Yash Raj Films (YRF) Production, shared the 2.34 minute long trailer on his social media handles.
The video opens with actor John Abraham-led mercenary outfit Outfit X wreaking havoc and announcing an impending attack on the Indian soil.
The Indian response is to bring back its spy -- Pathaan.
"Ab Pathaan ke vanvaas ka time khatam hua (The time for Pathaan's exile is over)," says veteran actor Kapadia's character in the trailer.
The next sequence shows Shah Rukh's spy breaking out of a prison in a daredevil fashion with all guns blazing.
"'Party 'Pathaan' ke ghar rakhoge, to mehmaan nawazi ke liye Pathaan to aayega and patakhe bhi layega' (If you have a party at Pathaan's house, he'll surely come to greet you as a host and will also bring fireworks!)" he says.
The story then moves to various international locales and also introduces Deepika Padukone's character, who joins Shah Rukh in his mission to take down John's terrorist outfit.
And throughout the trailer, Deepika has moments aplenty where she gets to do slick action.
The rest of the trailer teases the extravagant action sequences filmmaker Siddharth Anand has planned for the viewers that will surely get them on the edge of their seats.
South cinema's two superstars, Thalapathy Vijay and Ram Charan, launched the Tamil and Telugu language trailers of "Pathaan".
"Wishing @iamsrk sir and the team all the best for #Pathaan" tweeted Vijay.
Ram Charan posted on Twitter, "Wishing the whole team of #Pathaan all the very best! @iamsrk Sir looking fwd to seeing you in action sequences like never before! #PathaanTrailer" Shah Rukh's last release was 2018's "Zero", which had a dismal run at the box office and five years later, the actor aims to get back in the groove of giving hits.
However, it is not going to be a smooth ride for the superstar as the film has already courted controversy with its first song "Besharam Rang".
A sequence in the song showing Deepika in a saffron bikini led to protests across India for allegedly hurting "Hindu sentiments".
The film will be released on January 25, 2023 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
Shah Rukh's close friend and contemporary Salman Khan will be making an appearance in "Pathaan", reprising his role from "Tiger" movies.
There are reports that YRF is aiming to unite its characters from these films and build a larger spy universe that will also see Shah Rukh's "Pathaan" spy a cameo in Salman's "Tiger 3", also scheduled to release later this year.
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