Pathaan director Siddharth Anand: Audience too smart to be fooled by boycott calls

Pathaan director Siddharth Anand has addressed the boycott calls that were plaguing the Shah Rukh Khan starrer before its release. The film was receiving backlash over Deepika Padukone’s orange swimwear, which some right-wing extremists called out to be ‘offensive’ to Hindu sentiments.

Talking to Variety, Siddharth said, “The film has spoken and the film’s intentions have spoken. And the fact that it had nothing offensive, it’s such a patriotic film that it does inspire you. That’s reached the audience – the audience is too smart to get fooled by fake boycott calls.”

The director also spoke about the film’s success and how Shah Rukh’s enigma boosted the box office numbers. “There was a lot of curiosity to see Shah Rukh Khan back after his hiatus – he took a break from media, from appearances, he just became inaccessible to the world, there suddenly was a thirst that he created for him – today, audiences are used to stars being out there in social media and events and everywhere.”

“He created that enigmatic quality, that mystery around him, which a star should have and then did a film that is in a very popular genre. That coupled with the fact that the teaser landed so well, the songs became such huge hits, and to top it all the trailer gave the impact that it should. Everything just fell into place for the film. That’s what created this mass hysteria,” Anand added.

In the first week alone, Pathaan made Rs 315 crore nett domestically and over Rs 600 crore worldwide. It has become the fastest film in the country to reach the Rs 300 crore milestone. The film also stars John Abraham.