Shah Rukh Khan wishes John Abraham on birthday, shares his first look poster from Pathaan

Actor John Abraham will be seen as an antagonist in the much-awaited action-thriller flick `Pathaan`, which is slated for release in January 2023. The film also stars Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan in lead roles.

Mumbai: On the birthday occasion of John Abraham, Shah Rukh Khan dropped a new look poster of his Pathaan co-star and 'buddy' on Saturday. Taking to Instagram, SRK treated fans with a new poster from his upcoming action film featuring a birthday boy. Alongside poster SRK wrote, "On-screen foe, off-screen buddy... Happy Birthday dearest @thejohnabraham. Watch our clash in theatres on 25th Jan in #Pathaan! Releasing in Hindi, Tamil & Telugu. @deepikapadukone | #SiddharthAnand | @yrf"

The new poster features an armed John intensely staring into the camera. He could be seen wearing a leather jacket, high neck t-shirt and matching pants to give more touch to his character in the film. John is the antagonist, the villain of Pathaan. It will be interesting to see face-off between SRK and John in the movie.

About casting John as the villain, director Siddharth Anand shared, "John is the antagonist, the villain of Pathaan. And I have always believed in the fact that the villain`s projection should be as big, if not bigger than that of the hero. Only when the villain is massive, can the tussle between them be spectacular. And we have an extraordinary battle when SRK takes on John! We wanted to present John in a super slick avatar." Shah Rukh portrays a gun-toting spy with a license to kill in the upcoming action-thriller film.

As soon as the poster was uploaded, the actor's fans chimed in the comment section. One of the users, wrote, "SRK & John movie Biggest Blockbuster Pathan This Year." The first track of 'Pathaan', 'Besharam Rang' was dropped online on December 12, and soon it became the talk of the town. 

While several liked the peppy track, there're also who found 'Besharam Rang' objectionable over the use of saffron and green costumes. A slew of activists in Indore even staged a protest against Pathaan and Besharam Rang song and set effigies of Deepika and Shah Rukh on fire. 

The film is produced by Aditya Chopra and helmed by Siddharth Anand, 'Pathaan' is scheduled to hit the theatres on January 25, 2023. Apart from this, SRK will also be seen in Rajkumar Hirani's 'Dunki' and south director Atlee's 'Jawan'.