Pathaan: From Salman Khan's Tiger 3 to Hrithik Roshan's War, 7 Important Easter Eggs That Link Shah Rukh Khan's Spy Thriller to YRF Spy Universe (SPOILER ALERT)

It has already been made official that YRF is building its own cinematic universe connecting Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, War and now Pathaan. If you had missed this news, the opening credits of Pathaan showing the 'YRF Spy Universe' logo also confirms this fact. And throughout Pathaan, there is quite the sprinkling of nods and Easter Eggs to the other movies, expanding on which mean I have to delve into SPOILERs. So be very careful ahead! Pathaan Movie Review: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham's Film is a 'Seetimaar' Entertainer With a Paisa-Vasool Salman Khan Cameo! 

So without further ado, check out seven prominent Easter Eggs and callbacks that we saw in Pathaan that connected it to the past movies as well as the upcoming film in the YRF Spy Universe.

Colonel Luthra

Okay, this is an easy one since it has been shown in the promos itself. The trailer had already established that Ashutosh Rana is there in Pathaan and the movie confirms that he is reprising his character Colonel Sunil Luthra from War, and with him, comes quite a few War Easter Eggs, starting of course with...

Kabir

Hrithik Roshan's character from War gets quite a few mentions in Pathaan, even if the actor, against expectations, doesn't make a cameo. Most importantly, it is said that Jim and Kabir were of the same team, and Kabir is also prominently mentioned in the mid-credit scene of Pathaan that suggests a future teamup. Why when in Pathaan's intro scene, a dialogue he quotes is in reference to the "Ghungroo" song of War.

Rising From the Dead

When Pathaan and Nandini reveal to Colonel Luthra that Jim is alive and not dead as the RAW was made to believe, Luthra sarcastically says that he is hardly surprised that the dead doesn't stay dead any more. This is in reference to the rogue RAW agent Saurabh's character in War who made everyone believe that he is dead but in actuality, had taken over Khalid's (Tiger Shroff) identity and face (by plastic surgery) to keep himself hidden away.

Tiger Zinda Hai

Of course, the biggest moment in Pathaan is the post-interval sequence where Pathaan is rescued from his Russian guards while aboard a moving train, by none other than Tiger himself. The scene establishes that both know each other very well, from their RAW days presumably, and are veterans in their game who may be tired but aren't done with their business.

Tiger 3

Near the end of the aforementioned scene, Tiger tells Pathaan that he is off to another mission and he may need Pathaan there. This is, obviously, an allusion to the upcoming Tiger 3, where Shah Rukh Khan is reportedly (which means definitely) having a cameo. Tiger 3 also stars Katrina Kaif and Emraan Hashmi. Pathaan Fact Check: Old Public Opinion Videos of Zero and Jab Harry Met Sejal Go Viral As Fake FDFS Reviews for Shah Rukh Khan’s New Film.

Jim's 'Callback' Taut

Near the climax, Jim taunts RAW and ISI over the the closeness of their agents Pathaan and Rubina, asking if they have started some kind of dating service. While saying so, he also mention Tiger and Zoya reminding us that like Rubina, even Zoya used to be an ISI agent who fell in love Tiger, a RAW agent in Ek Tha Tiger.

Pathaan the Captain America of Spy Universe (or is it Iron Man?)

In the first mid-credit scene, Colonel Luthra asks Pathaan, who wants to part ways with RAW, to stay and help him with a program featuring agents who aren't in active service because they are not physically or mentally fit but continues to be patriots as before. Because in Luthra's words, neither Luthra, nor Tiger, nor Kabir, nor Pathaan are enough to save the country, but together they can do quite a lot. So is this the movie's way of setting up an Avengers-style super-spy actioner that will bring Tiger, Pathaan, Kabir, and we presume, Zoya and Rubina, against some very formidable force that demand their union? Also will this mean SRK will return as Pathaan in War 2, if and when that happens? We can hardly wait for the next update!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 26, 2023 01:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).