Khan will return to the big screen after more than four years in an action film titled Pathaan, backed by Yash Raj Films, next January. The film co-starring Deepika Padukone and John Abraham and directed by Siddharth Anand is slated for Tamil and Telugu releases other than Hindi. He will also be seen in Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, scheduled for December 2023.
Khan’s last film Zero, released in December 2018, had made around ₹88 crore at the box office. Other recent projects like Jab Harry Met Sejal, Raees, Fan, and Dilwale had also not found favour with audiences. His comeback has been delayed by several months due to covid-induced lockdowns. Later he took off from shooting during son Aaryan’s arrest last year.
Best known for his romantic roles in the 1990s such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai, Yes Boss, Pardes, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein and others, Khan has drawn criticism for his repetitive characters on screen.
As theatrical releases resume, trade experts say a bunch of big-budget, star-cast films will help Bollywood fully recover by late 2022 with some sort of consistency in flow of fresh content. Films greenlit and shot after the first and second covid waves are lining up for showcasing in the coming months. Diwali releases such as Sooryavanshi and Annaatthe had already set the ball rolling late last year before the third covid wave. Projects delayed from 2020 plus those greenlit in 2021 will come together to bear real fruit for the industry this year when pent-up demand among audiences will meet supply.
