John Abraham, who plays the antagonist in Pathaan, was the "first and only choice" for the role, film's director Siddharth Anand said, reported news agency ANI. Speaking about the character that John Abraham plays in Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone's film, Siddharth Anand said, "For Pathaan to be larger than life, we needed to have a towering villain who is equally larger than life. We wanted someone who is ruthless and suave and commands an electric presence on screen! So the villain in Pathaan was written keeping John Abraham in mind," reported news agency ANI.
The War director added, "He was our first and only choice, and we were certain that we wanted a villain that they would cherish forever. I'm delighted to see the response that people have showered on John as he takes on Shah Rukh Khan in a blood-soaked, adrenaline-pumping rivalry that will be epic in every sense possible. John is the perfect opposite of Pathaan on screen and we have made their rivalry look deliciously edge of the seat. It will be one hell of a thrilling showdown."
Check out the teaser of Pathaan here:
Pathaan, directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Yash Raj Films, will release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on January 25, 2023.
Pathaan marks SRK and Deepika Padukone's fourth project together. Deepika Padukone debuted in Bollywood opposite Shah Rukh Khan in 2007 film Om Shanti Om and then they co-starred Happy New Year and Chennai Express - all three movies did well at the box office. This is the first time that John Abraham and SRK will be seen sharing screen space.