Siddharth Anand’s action drama Pathaan is an unusual success story. The film is in its fourth week and has already collected more than Rs 970 crore worldwide. But, that is not why Pathaan’s box-office performance is unusual.
Some liberals have pounced at the opportunity to interpret the success of Pathaan, which is headlined by a Muslim superstar Shah Rukh Khan, as a victory over Hindu nationalists, among them those who have expressed their dislike for certain Bollywood stars and the content of their films. That list also includes SRK, and his hugely successful actioner.
Those marketing the victory-over-nationalists theory are suggesting, in other words, that liberals have marched to the theatres to make Pathaan a blockbuster.
That is an absurd argument.
WHY HAVE MOST BOLLYWOOD FILMS FAILED?
To understand why Pathaan has worked, it is important to reflect on why most recent Hindi films have failed. Advait Chandan’s comedy-drama Laal Singh Chaddha tanked in the Indian market. Calls for its boycott before its release might have impacted its performance, but the main reason for its failure was the absence of content with mass appeal that has characterised most successes at the domestic box office lately.
Recent times have seen too many mediocre or worse big-budget commercial films, which have disappointed both critics and viewers. Rohit Shetty has never been a favourite of the critics, but he has been an entertainer of the masses. He failed to deliver a viewer-friendly film with Cirkus, a comedy that made few laugh. Indra Kumar’s comedy Thank God was, in one word, boring. Siddharth Malhotra’s single-note performance brought it down even further, which can be also said about Ranveer Singh’s poor performance in Cirkus. Apart from half-baked screenplays, these actors played a big role in the failures of their respective films.
WHY HAS PATHAAN WORKED?
Shah Rukh Khan is who he is because Indians across the country — and in the vast overseas market — adore him. Even though he has had a few failures before Pathaan, his off-screen appeal hasn’t diminished. After a gap of four years in which he did not make a single appearance in a central role, he hit the marquee as an action hero. His hardcore fan liked his new image much before the film’s release and rushed to the theatres on the first day. This viewer enjoyed the film thoroughly, and the dissemination of positive feedback resulted in a popular blockbuster.
Further, Pathaan was not marketed with the help of pre-release star interviews, TV appearances and press conferences, the usual tools of promotions. Music videos, a teaser, a trailer and posters were used for promotion, heightening the suspense around the film.
Pathaan doesn’t have a unique storyline. Revolving around an exiled RAW agent, who returns to action after a long gap, the film has been inspired by several Hollywood films. The screenplay takes convenient shortcuts, and much of what takes place isn’t convincing. But, the main reason why Pathaan works is because it goes all out to entertain the viewer. Prashanth Neel’s action dramas, the two KGF films, did the same — although the approach was as different as chalk and cheese.
Helmed by Anand, who had a clear idea of how to package and present his leading man in an action-packed role in a story with a strong villain (John Abraham) and a glamorous heroine (Deepika Padukone), Pathaan offered a delectable larger-than-life theatrical experience. It is because of that, and that alone, that the film has become a blockbuster.
WHERE DID THE BOYCOTT BRIGADE DISAPPEAR?
The boycott brigade on social media did what it could to ruin the possibility of Pathaan’s success. It failed. Calls for a ban can dissuade a section of potential viewers and hurt those films that might have been mediocre grossers otherwise — and make the figures of box-office collections even worse. When a blockbuster is tempting enough to attract thousands day after day, such a call fails to have much impact.
Expensive Bollywood films headlined by big stars and backed by promotional activities have been failing because they are remakes, or because their trailers aren’t exciting enough, or because negative feedback reaches viewers in no time. Had the content been good — or appealing if not first-rate — they would have attracted many more viewers to the ticket counters.
So yes, Pathaan has worked. It has worked in a big way. While its success will be a hard act to follow, other Bollywood films will also attract viewers to the theatres, have good occupancy for more than a few days, and make their producers smile in future. That will not happen because those who see them in movie halls will be political liberals, who will make a statement of support for ‘secular’ Bollywood. Viewers will go to watch these films if they promise larger-than-life, non-stop entertainment — and deliver.
The author, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature and pop culture. Among his books are ‘MSD: The Man, The Leader’, the bestselling biography of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, and the ‘Hall of Fame’ series of film star biographies. Views expressed are personal.
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