EXCLUSIVE: Pathaan writer Sridhar Raghavan on Shah Rukh Khan’s cameo in Salman Khan starrer Tiger 3: Expect the unexpected

Shah Rukh Khan returned to the big screens with a bang in Pathaan. The Deepika Padukone and John Abraham co-starrer has been breaking records every day and achieving new milestones. Recently, the writer of the film Sridhar Raghavan got in an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Bubble. He spoke about the spy universe, it’s future and Shah Rukh Khan cameo in Salman Khan starrer Tiger 3. Excerpts:

Has the humongous response to Pathaan sunk in yet?

“Honestly, it’s just been a couple of days that I had got the time to get the sense of it all and I am delighted. When the film connects, you feel damn good. When you see people whistling at the right scenes, you feel a sense of joy. People remembering lines of the films, enjoying sequences, going again, clapping and hooting at introductions, if a shawl comes down, people are celebrating, this is all fun. Now you understand what the sheer magic of cinema is in a cinema hall with so many other people.”

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How important is it for you to be associated with a universe like this?

“In terms of being associated with this universe, it’s an absolute pleasure, actually. The universe existed before I came into it. To be very honest, I have nothing to do with Tiger 1 or Tiger 2. It’s like one car was going quite smoothly and they stopped briefly and I got a lift. And now I’m also driving and I’m also a part of it. So I got into this journey with War. Now with Shah Rukh Khan, I had Pathaan and next is Tiger 3. But who’s in the driving seat? That’s the question.

I’m sitting by the side, I have a map with which I can go in either direction but in the driving seat is Mr. Aditya Chopra who kind of designed this entire thing, he conceptualized it. Much before I understood, I knew what he was planning, he had a certain design in mind. As a writer, you suddenly have access to easily the best studio in this country. It is helmed by somebody who the world knows as a producer, a director, but who also is primarily a writer. So, the person behind this universe is Adi Chopra, a writer. When I’m getting a chance to work on something like this, it’s terrific.”

How is it dealing with the expectations that come with it?

“We are coming after Tiger 1, Tiger 2, War, Pathaan and every one of them has been like a blockbuster in their own right. So expectation is there, but luckily for me as a writer, there is expectation but zero pressure. When we are writing, we’re just having fun. Success is not a pressure, it actually liberates you. Instead of pressure, It’s actually pleasure. So even now, when we’re approaching the next lot of films, the question is what more can we do? How much can we play around with this genre?

We’ve got characters who the audience knows inside out. They know Tiger like a family member. When they see a shawl, they know he’s coming. They know how Kabir is. They know Pathaan is more vulnerable, funny, humorous. It actually helps us a lot. So now it’s like I’m giving you three aces, three kings, three queens, so ab game lose karna thoda mushkil hai. Obviously we have to design it right. It has to be entertaining and exciting. We can’t take ourselves for granted and give typical and monotonous content.”

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I must say, the whole Pathaan is on one side and then that end scene between Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan is just another level. Where did the idea for that came from? Because that is not something related to the plot.

“Superb insight, superb observation. It doesn’t seem like it’s come from me because it didn’t come from me. It came from Mr Adi Chopra. He came up with the idea and I also didn’t expect it. It wasn’t in the screenplay and when I saw the edit, I thought what a deadly scene. See, so that was his addition.”

When a name like Shah Rukh Khan gets associated with your work, how important does it become?

“We’ve got an actor here who’s not just acting and giving you star presence. He is insanely hyper intelligent. He is as much a writer as anybody else in terms of when we’re discussing a scene. He’s got perspective, he’s got a point of view, he is discussing variations options, and he knows the genre better than me. He knows the genre better than most of us because he loves action films.

It’s terrific because you’re working with a couple of the biggest stars in the country. You’re working with Shah Rukh Khan sir, Salman Khan sir, it’s great. If I was writing a resume, I would have written it as a high point. Everybody knows he’s a deadly actor, he’s a great star.”

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After Salman’s cameo in Pathaan, people’s expectations have risen from the appearance of Shah Rukh Khan in Tiger 3…

“I’ll just put it this way. Expect the unexpected because whatever one thinks is going to be there, is not what it’s going to be. It’s going to be quite a surprise.”

From War to Pathaan, how has been the growth that you have noticed in Siddharth Anand?

“Sid is on the top of his game right now. When War came out, we were experimenting with a mainstream genre. The confidence that Sid got from it, suddenly, he knew he’s on the right thing. So now he’s letting his imagination run wild and he’s enjoying himself.”

Lastly, what does the future hold for the spy universe?

“The idea is that the characters who have been created, male and female, expand with further adventures, many more adventures. There will be certain crossovers, obviously and there will also be new characters. We will move into new directions. There will also be characters who you thought you won’t see again for a while, or you thought you’ll never see again, who might just come back. That’s the whole fun of creating the whole universe thing, because there is a design and it is ever expanding.“

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