'Pathaan' teaser: Shah Rukh Khan makes action-packed return as missing spy

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan released the first teaser of his highly anticipated film Pathaan, giving his fans the perfect return gift on his 57th birthday.

The actor, who plays the titular spy in the upcoming Yash Raj Films (YRF) Production, shared the 1.25-minute-long teaser on his official Twitter account on Wednesday.

"Apni kursi ki peti baandh lijiye (Fasten your seatbelts)…#PathaanTeaser OUT NOW! Celebrate #Pathaan with #YRF50 only at a big screen near you on 25th January, 2023. Releasing in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. @deepikapadukone | @TheJohnAbraham | #SiddharthAnand | @yrf," Shah Rukh captioned the teaser link on the microblogging site.

The video opens with an interrogation where the informant says Pathaan has been missing for three years after his cover was blown in the last mission.

"Suna hai bohot torture kiya usey (I've heard he was tortured a lot)," the informant says in the voiceover.

This dialogue is an apparent hint to Shah Rukh's self-imposed sabbatical from the movies after the box office failure of 2018's Zero. However, this year he had cameos in films such as Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, Laal Singh Chaddha, and Brahmastra Part One: Shiva.

Shah Rukh is introduced as the battered, bloodied spy who proclaims he is alive ("Zinda hai") when a man wonders if Pathaan was dead. It is a nice hat-tip to his industry friend and fellow Bollywood star Salman Khan, whose last film under YRF's Tiger franchise was Tiger Zinda Hai (2017).

Billed as a "high-octane spy thriller", Pathaan is directed by Siddharth Anand of War and Bang Bang fame. The film also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham.

There could be no better day to put out the teaser of Pathaan than Shah Rukh's birthday, said the director.

"The craze for a glimpse of 'Pathaan' has been unprecedented. After a long, long time there's insane buzz for a film that is genuine and organic. And it's all due to the super stardom of this one man - Shah Rukh Khan. His fans, and we are talking of millions of them, have been clamouring for just a peek of him and his film. He, truly, has been ruling the hearts and minds of audiences for decades and 'Pathaan' marks his return to the big screen after a gap of four long years. So, while we decided to surprise them all on his birthday, the pressure to deliver was immense," Siddharth said in a statement.

The teaser also sees Deepika involved in stylish stunts and romancing Shah Rukh. John, who previously starred in YRF's biker action hit Dhoom, locks horns with the superstar on a moving trailer truck.

Pathaan also marks the fourth collaboration between Shah Rukh and Deepika, following her Bollywood debut Om Shanti Om, Chennai Express, and Happy New Year. John and Deepika are working once again with each other after Desi Boyz and Race 2.

The film will be released on January 25, 2023 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Salman and Shah Rukh have extended cameos in "Pathaan" and "Tiger 3", respectively. YRF is aiming to unite its characters from these films and build a larger spy universe.