John Abraham calls Pathaan co-star Shah Rukh Khan India's number one action hero: 'He isn't an actor but an emotion'

Pathaan had one of the most unusual promotional campaigns with the cast and crew not giving out any interview before the release. That built the hype and anticipation resulting in the massive windfall at the box office. On Monday, the cast of the film – Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, John Aabraham – and the director Siddharth Anand spoke to the media and fans about the film and its success.

Pathaan is Shah Rukh’s first out-and-out action film in decades. The actor has largely been known for his romantic and dramatic roles. But here, he switched genres and is being appreciated for it. John Abraham, who plays the antagonist Jim in the film, applauded the senior actor for it. “I used to think I am an action hero but now I see Shah Rukh and this man is the number one action hero in the country. I am actually surprised why he was not an action star before because he is so good,” John said.

As Shah Rukh’s fans cheered this statement, John said, “He isn’t an actor but an emotion, right?” Responding to John’s praise, Shah Rukh also praised his co-star. “I think the backbone of this film, the film that makes Pathaan work is the character Jim, played by John Abraham.”

This elicited more cheers from the fans gathered there. Pathaan, which released on January 25, has already grossed Rs 542 crore in five days. The film has already broken most opening weekend records for the Hindi box office and is among the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time.

Pathaan has also entered the top-10 highest-grossing Hindi films of all time without even finishing its first week. The film is now the third-highest-grossing Indian film post-pandemic, behind only KGF Chapter 2 and RRR. It has overtaken the collections of Vikram and Ponniyin Selvan: I.