Bollywood: Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan hail success of 'Pathaan'

Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan on Tuesday expressed happiness at the box office success of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan, saying they hope that the good times continue for the movie industry.

The stylish spy thriller, which had faced boycott calls over the song Besharam Rang prior to its release on January 25, has been a humongous success at the box office.

While many are touting the success of Pathaan, Gangubai Kathiawadi and Brahmastra as an answer to the forces working against the film industry, Bhatt said as artists, they don't have so much "aggression".

"I don't think we have so much aggression in us like that. We are very grateful to be working and living our dream on day-to-day basis. And we believe that we belong to the audience and the audience can say whatever they want to us.

"As long as we are entertaining them we will do our very best," the Darlings star told reporters here at the Zee Cine awards 2023 press conference.

The commercial success of Pathaan is a joyous moment for Indian cinema, Bhatt added. The Yash Raj Films' project also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham.

"We feel very very happy as an industry that a film like Pathaan is not just a blockbuster but possibly the biggest blockbuster of Indian cinema," she added.

Dhawan, who was also present at the event, said one must not pay heed to boycott trends as the success of Pathaan is a testament that the audience is only looking for pure entertainment.

"If people are liking it (Pathaan), then be happy. We should not discuss much about it. The collections are speaking about the reach of Indian cinema, of Hindi cinema.

"And when you have some of the biggest stars of this country in Pathaan, be it Shah Rukh sir, Salman bhai, Deepika Padukone and John, you are giving the audience what they want and that's entertainment," he said.

Directed by Siddharth Anand, Pathaan marks Shah Rukh's first big screen release as a lead in over four years.

The movie is the fourth title in producer Aditya Chopra's ambitious spy universe, following Salman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), and War, featuring Hrithik Roshan (2019).

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