Siddharth Anand reveals John Abraham was the first and only choice for villain, says, ‘For Pathaan to be larger than life, we needed...’

Pathaan director Siddharth Anand revealed how John Abraham was the first and only choice for villain as they needed someone who could make Pathaan look larger than life.

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New Delhi: John Abraham has amazed everyone in Pathaan’s teaser, where it was revealed that he will play the role of Shah Rukh Khan’s arch-enemy! John has been presented in an Uber cool avatar, a villain that is a ruthless mercenary who wants total destruction of his enemy. Siddharth reveals only John could have played the role with elan and he was thrilled that he said yes to Pathaan! 

Siddharth says, “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.” 

He adds, “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.” 

Pathaan is set to release on Jan 25, 2023 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The film marks superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback to the films after ‘Zero’ in 2018. ‘Zero’, however, had tanked at the box office. It also stars Deepika Padukone alongside SRK. The actor will be collaborating with Deepika Padukone for the fourth time after ‘Om Shanti Om’, ‘Chennai Express’ and ‘Happy New Year’.