Pathaan director Siddharth Anand: ‘John Abraham was our first and only choice to play villain’

Siddharth Anand, who has helmed Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback film Pathaan, stated that John Abraham was his first and solely selection for the position of the villain within the movie. The director stated that he needed somebody who’s ruthless and the “perfect opposite of Pathaan”.

Siddharth stated, “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 added, “He (John) was our first and only choice, and we were certain that we wanted a villain that the audience would cherish forever. I am 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.”

Earlier, Siddharth Anand had opened up about Shah Rukh Khan’s transformation for Pathaan and stated, “Shah Rukh Khan has pushed his body to breaking point for Pathaan. So, all the love that he is getting for Pathaan’s teaser, he deserves all that and much more. I remember when I first met him on Pathaan, we discussed how physically challenging it will be for him and he was game from the get go and it shows on screen.”

Pathaan is all set to launch on January 25, 2023 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.