'Pathaan': Shah Rukh Khan film saves ailing Bollywood cinema

Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan is a blessing in waiting for cinema owners whose business came to a halt after the pandemic.

The highly-anticipated film pushed the reopening of 25 North Indian theatres, which were forced to close during the pandemic.

According to BBC, the film registered record advance bookings which led exhibitors to add extra shows at midnights to cater to the demand.

The spy thriller movie's record number of advance bookings led the Ticketing platform BookMyShow to call audience response "phenomenal", with over one million tickets booked by Monday itself.

Further, the YRF-backed film rolled out on almost 8,000 screens globally, the biggest opening for a Bollywood film, per analyst Taran Adarsh.

Like fans, the critics gush over the worthy return of the King of Bollywood.

"Bollywood is back. Shah Rukh Khan is back," film reviewer Shubhra Gupta wrote in The Indian Express.

Film critic Deepanjana Pal, writing for the FilmCompanion, called Pathaan "a hero for today's India" who brings familiar gestures to the role but in new and different ways.

"The romantic hero is gone, replaced by an older, scruffier man who is determined to fulfil the responsibilities placed up him by his circumstances," she wrote.

The film follows the exciting tale of Pathaan, a polished Indian spy played by Khan, who is on a mission to finish a terrorist group from attacking India.

Pathaan also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in primary roles.