Shah Rukh Khan and another superstar of his era—call let’s him Bhaijaan—accept their advancing years in Pathaan, which is arguably the most meta film Shah Rukh Khan has ever made. Both of them are aware that 30 years is plenty time to leave a lasting legacy, despite their soreness and aches. They have also swapped a strip of pills. They dismiss one possible heir after another with the thought, “Who next?”
We, the audience, are grinning broadly yet swaying uncomfortably in our chairs. That exact same conversation has taken place in our homes, on Twitter, and occasionally on newspaper pages. We have finished writing their obituaries, approved of our professional eulogies, and acknowledged the end of the superstar period. They are the last of a rapidly extinct breed, and their time is running out. Tick, tick, tick.
Those who are unsure whether the audience swaying in the theatre aisles and the lines forming to see the movie should grasp Shah Rukh’s appeal before making that assumption. He ceased being a celebrity a long time ago, and now he represents a feeling that surpasses the limitations imposed by religion and culture by his adversaries. He is a survivor who doesn’t save anything for the swim back, and he serves as a reminder of a welcoming nation. Both he and we are all in. Pathaan’s success is not just about some empty box office figures, it says as much about the man at its heart as it does about the country lining up to watch him.