Shah Rukh Khan made a smashing return with Pathaan which broke all box office records. Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma shared his thoughts and weighen in on the North vs South debate. The filmmaker said that Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan changed the ‘myth that no Bollywood film will work’. Varma mentioned how the release of Pathaan put a break on the North vs. South debate in the film industry. Moreover, the director also stated that Pathaan actually defied the perception that only South films could succeed because Bollywood was struggling. He also emphasised in the end that the success of the film is all that matters.
Ram Gopal Varma on the success of Shah Rukh Khan starrer Pathaan
In a recent conversation with Bollywood Hungama, the Rangeela director shared his views on the success that Pathaan saw at the box office. He said, “One thing Pathaan did was to put a brake on this whole South wave. There was this perception that there was more acceptance for South films and that no Bollywood film is going to work anymore.”
He added, “This was when Kantara, RRR and KGF – Chapter 2 were doing wonders at the box office. Pathaan stopped that myth as a blockbuster was delivered by a Hindi film star, Hindi director and Hindi producer.”
Moreover, Varma also said that it’s the success of the film that matters, and it’s not really about the competition between North and South and continued, “We have a tendency to label things. Whether S S Rajamouli is born in Gujarat or Odisha, he’ll still make the same film!”
About Pathaan
On January 25, Shah Rukh Khan made his comeback with Pathaan, a Siddharth Anand directorial. Even though the film faced some instances of boycott, the film was a huge success worldwide. In fact, the film claimed the title of being the highest grossing film of 2023 and made Rs. 543 crores in India alone and more than Rs. 1000 crores globally. Alongside the Badshah of Bollywood, the film also featured John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Dimple Kapadia, and Ashutosh Rana in key roles.
Shah Rukh Khan will next be seen in Atlee’s Jawan and Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki.
