YRF's Spy Universe officially begins with Pathaan, the action- thriller that is directed by Siddharth Anand. Arriving in theatres with humongous expectations, Pathaan brings back Shah Rukh Khan to the lead role after a gap of five years. Shah Rukh Khan is Pathaan, an Indian spy who is on a mission to stop a dangerous operative Jim, played by John Abraham. Deepika Padukone plays a femme fatale whose character has a lot of twists and turns. We are watching Pathaan in a packed theatre right now and here's what we see about the first half. Pathaan Review: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham's Film Is a Winner As Per Netizens. 

The movie begins with a Pakistani general assigning a mysterious mission to Jim as revenge for abrogation of Article 370. We then see Pathaan's kickass entry as he ambushes a meeting of one of Jim's associates and gets away with him. Pathaan was a former member of Indian Intelligence unit called JOCR, that consists of 'broken' RAW members like him. He is now rogue, and the lengthy flashback sequence in the first half explains why. Pathaan Beats KGF 2! Shah Rukh Khan's Film Sells 5.56 Lakh Tickets in Advance Booking for Its Opening Day.

Watch Pathaan Trailer:

The flashback sequence shows how Pathaan starts JOCR with Dimple Kapadia's character and how their first assignment gets him to face Jim. John Abraham steals the show as the villain, often getting the upper hand over the hero. Pathaan's globe-trotting adventure also gets him to meet Rubina, Deepika's character, whose allegiance often remains in question. As the songs have already established, Deepika is quite hot in some very bold outfits and her chemistry with SRK is naturally crackling. What's not hot, is the film tends to alleviate itself to a certain very prevalent narrative.

There are a few good action setpieces, though use of greenscreens in closeup sequences is evident. But Pathaan is unabashedly sleek and massy, with Shah Rukh Khan having the time of his life here. Overall quite an entertaining first half with a very interesting interval block. Watch this space for full review of Pathaan.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 25, 2023 09:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).