Writer Shridhar Raghavan on Pathaan: 'The task was to satisfy the fans who only come to see Shah Rukh Khan in the theatres'

Screenplay writer of Pathaan, Shridhar Raghavan in an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal shares his experience of working on the blockbuster.

On creating a successful project for the SPY Universe, he tells, “One doesn’t know until you see something on a big screen. Community viewing always gives a sense of audience perspective. I never put too many thoughts into it rather live in the moment. Shah Rukh is an established star with a loyal fanbase. He has never been associated with this genre, so the task was to satisfy the fans who only come to see him in the theatres. Since I wasn’t working on it solo, the pressure wasn’t only on me. I knew that I was in the best hands of Siddharth Anand and Mr Adi Chopra, who are clear with their visions. I didn’t feel any remote burden at all.”

“SRK made the character relatable. By the time, we went on floors, the pressure wasn’t on how we could get Mr Khan to get right rather we have Covid restrictions, that was the real pressure. The best part of the writers is that most of the work gets over after a point. My worry is as after the pandemic, would people really want to see a film on a vaccine mutation, though I had written Pathaan way before Covid hit us,” he signs off.