This article is written by Gajendra Khanna, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in other sites without the knowledge and consent of the web administrator of atulsongaday.me, then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.

While browsing the songs posted for various years on the Atul’s Song A Day website, I realised that the current year 2023 is still to make it’s debut on the blog and decided to make a post from the movie which is being reported as the biggest hit of the year so far – Pathaan.

Pathaan is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Siddharth Anand and written by Shridhar Raghavan and Abbas Tyrewala, from a story by Anand.

This is the fourth movie in the YRF (Yash Raj Films’) Spy Universe. YRF Spy Universe is an Indian shared universe centered on a series of spy action-thriller films, which feature various fictional RAW agents. It is produced and distributed by Yash Raj Films. The franchise is commercially successful by having grossed ₹2,422 crore on a combined budget of ₹635 crore, thus becoming the second highest-grossing Indian franchise. The shared universe, initially started out as a single movie series, later was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.

The first film Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and its sequel Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) centre on a fictional R&AW agent played by Salman Khan. War (2019) tells the story of a RAW agent played by Hrithik Roshan who goes rogue. Before making War, producer Aditya Chopra and director Siddharth Anand came up with the idea of merging these films and creating a shared universe by crossing over the characters who all belong to the RAW. However, War was still made as a standalone film without directly connecting to the first two Tiger films—supporting the idea of creating a proper foundation for the War characters before a proper crossover. The fifth movie of the series, Tiger 3 starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif is scheduled to release on 10 November 2023, coinciding with Diwali.

Pathaan (2023) starring Shah Rukh Khan as the titular character and a RAW agent, directed by Anand, is the first film to have characters appearing from both the Tiger franchise and War. It is the fourth film in the SPY Universe and the first YRF film to have a crossover.

Pathaan which released on 25^th January 2023, on the eve of the Indian Republic Day is reportedly breaking all sorts of box office records. Some reports claim that it has already crossed 1040 crores of revenue worldwide. The day the movie released, I happened to be on Bengaluru’s M.G. Road for some window shopping. I saw that the Fame Symphony cinema had a huge crowd in front of it thanks to the release of this film. This was quite an anticipated movie for the audience since Shah Rukh Khan was appearing in a film after 4 years (Zero had last released on 21st December 2018). There was a huge publicity campaign for the movie’s release which had got even more accentuated due to a controversy over Deepika Padukone’s orange bikini featured in the video and lyrics of the film’s hit song ‘Besharam Rang’. Before, I share my views on the movie let me share the movie’s plot below:-

In 2019, the Indian Government revokes Article 370, which grants special status for Jammu and Kashmir. The news impacts a cancer-ridden Pakistani army general, Qadir, who decides to exact vengeance against India. He signs a contract with Jim, who leads “Outfit X”, a private terrorist organization. Meanwhile, Pathaan, a former RAW agent, and his senior officer Nandini Grewal open a unit dubbed the “Joint Operations and Covert Research” (JOCR) unit, to recruit former RAW agents who were forced to retire due to past trauma or injury, but want to serve the country.

With RAW joint secretary, Colonel Sunil Luthra’s acceptance, Pathaan and his team head to Dubai to stop Outfit X’s plans of attacking the President of India at a scientific conference. However, they realize that their actual plan was to kidnap two scientists, Dr. Farooqui and Dr. Sahani instead and the information they received about the imminent attack on the President was a ruse to mislead them. Jim attacks the scientists’ convoy and Pathaan tries to stop him. A fight ensues, where Jim manages to escape with Dr. Sahani. At the debrief back at the agency, Luthra reveals that Jim was a former RAW agent and Kabir Dhaliwal’s partner, who was awarded with the Vir Puraskar for his bravery after the agency could not find his body when Somalian terrorists killed his wife and unborn child in a negotiation gone-wrong. He had apparently faked his death in order to seek vengeance against the agency and country for not saving his family.
Meanwhile, Pathaan learns about the codeword dubbed “Raktbeej” and also that the dead people in Dubai were ex-agents and their money was transferred from the account of Rubina “Rubai” Mohsin, a Pakistani doctor in Spain. He travels to Spain and is captured by Jim’s men, where he also learns that Rubai is an ex-ISI agent. When Jim leaves his hideout, Rubai attacks Jim’s men and escapes with Pathaan. Rubai reveals that Raktbeej is in Moscow, where they travel to steal it before Jim does. However, Rubai betrays Pathaan and has him captured by the police. It is revealed that Jim used Rubai to make Pathaan steal the Raktbeej for himself. Pathaan is captured and taken to prison by train, but is saved by Avinash “Tiger” Singh Rathore.

Three years later, Pathaan travels to Africa and captures Jim’s henchman Raafe. He meets Nandini and reveals about Jim purchasing two saber missiles, while Nandini reveals Rubai’s location in Paris. Pathaan meets Rubai, who reveals that the Raktbeej is a mutated smallpox virus, which was forcibly developed by a captive Dr. Sahani under Jim’s orders. She also expresses guilt about betraying Pathaan without knowing that her country would plan such an heinous attack. They travel to Jim’s lab in Siberia and manage to recover one orb containing the virus with great difficulty, while Jim escapes with the other orb. Luthra and Nandini reach Jim’s lab to take the orb back to the Indian Institute of Contagious Diseases (IICD), in India in order to develop a vaccine. Luthra also has Rubai arrested for having questionable loyalties.

At the IICD in India, Dr. Farooqui demonstrates the orb to Nandini. Jim calls them and reveals that the orb has already spread the virus in the facility. The infected scientists, along with Nandini die in the facility by shooting themselves, to curb the spread of the virus. Later, the facility is destroyed in a controlled blast. Jim provides an ultimatum to evacuate Indian soldiers out of Kashmir within 24 hours. Pathaan interrogates Raafe about the location of the missile, and learns that the missile is situated in Afghanistan. After rescuing Rubai, they lure Jim’s associates into a trap, and attack Jim’s base. Qadir is killed by Rubai before activating the missile containing the virus. Pathaan chases after Jim with a jetpack and they both crash land into a cabin.

Meanwhile, Rubai deactivates the missile, but finds that Raktbeej is not in the missile, but instead in a passenger-bound airplane, which is about to land in Delhi. She informs Pathaan, who finds that Jim has the detonator. Luthra calls the air traffic control to prevent the plane from landing in Delhi. In the cabin, Pathaan and Jim fight brutally, resulting in the cabin begin sliding off a cliff. Despite getting stabbed by Jim, Pathaan steals the detonator, deactivates Raktbeej and throws Jim out of the cabin as the foundation is about to break. While Jim holds onto a plank, Pathaan takes away his Vir Puraskar, deeming him unworthy of it. He stomps and breaks the plank Jim was holding onto, resulting in him falling to his apparent death. Afterwards, Pathaan is reinstated into RAW and made as the head of JOCR, while Nandini is posthumously awarded with the Vir Puraskar for her bravery.
In a mid-credits scene, Pathaan and Tiger are seen pondering about retiring and suggesting young agents who can replace them, but eventually decide to keep fighting the threats themselves.

So that was the movie’s ‘plot’. From the reviews of colleagues I gathered that the movie is a total masala film and moviegoers are going to see Shah Rukh’s latest outing on the big screen after a long time. I got mixed reviews about the movie from colleagues and due to my busy schedule at the time could not manage to walk it in the cinemas. Finally, I was able to manage to watch it on 22nd March on Amazon Prime when it released there as it happened to be a holiday.

Now, why was it a holiday may be a surprise to some people in some parts of India but it is a very normal annual occurrence for us here in Bengaluru. Let me take the opportunity to talk a bit about the ‘holiday’ here, on occasion of ‘Ugadi’. This day is very important as per our Sanatana Dharma. This is the day our Vikram Samwat calendar starts. King Vikramaditya is recorded to have started this calendar in 57 B.C to commemorate his victory over the Sakas. His kingdom had many important Geographers like Varamihir and it was based on their calculations that the calendar was made. The calendar or ‘panchaang’ had been calculated as per precise time calculations in those days. As per their calculations, the moon travels through the twelve Raashis (constellations) in 354 days. Thus, the moon travels each constellation in 29days, on the basis of which the calendar year was divided into twelve months. It was for the first time in the world that a year was divided into twelve months. In the calculation, the year is counted on basis of the sun’s movement while the months are calculated as per the movement of the moon. This same principle was also adopted by the Greeks, Arabs and the British later. It is also interesting to note that in comparison to the western calendars, here the names of the months of the calendars is quite scientific. While the western calendars are named according to the names of kings, queens or Gods/Goddesses, our Hindu Navsanvatsar technique names the months according to the Nakshatras the moon is in at the time of the Poornima (full moon). For example, if it is in Chitra, it is called Chaitra, in Vishakha it is Vaishakh, In Shravan it is Shraavan and when in Phalguni it is Phalgun. Thus our calendar’s months are not only scientific but they also consider the natural changes in the solar system. Due to the speed of the Sun and moon, every year, a difference of ten days occurs due to which they also catered for an ‘Adhimaas’. The original British (Gregorian) calendar had only ten months and due to which every year the time of Christmas used tochange. Due to such discrepancies, European countries had taken inspiration from the provision of 12 months in our calendar.

This new year day falls in the Chaitra month and there is a lot of significance of it. Some people may be surprised and ask that why does the ‘new year’ start fifteen days into the Chaitra month. The western calendars normally start on the new year after all, isn’t it? Like the calendar, there is a rational explanation for this too in our Sanatan philosophy. The belief is that during the Krishna Paksh due to the decline in the moon for 15 days the sky starts to become dark. Our Sanatan Dharma is based on moving from darkness to light (the principal that the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions as Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya -which incidentally was my school’s motto too- which means From darkness, lead me to light). Due to this reason, in Chaitra after 15 days in Shukla Paksh due to increase in size of the moon, the brightness of light also increases and on the Pratipada tithi we celebrate the Hindu New Year.

This day marks the beginning of the Chaitra Navratras which are considered very auspicious. Chaitra Navratri is the first of four navratris of the year and being the first is very important. During these navratris in Punjab and other areas where the Shakti philosophy is followed, the nine forms of the Goddess Shakti, Durga, Shailputri, Brahmcharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skand Mata, Katyayini, Kaal Raatri, Maha Gauri and Siddhi Daatri are prayed to by the Devotees (Bhakts). According to traditional kathas, Devi Durga had descended from the heavens to visit her paternal home (Maayka) and spend time with her devotees on this day. People undertake fasts on each day praying to the specific form of the goddess for the day and finally it ends the Chaitra Navmi (Also celebrated Ram Navmi or Vasant Navratri). Kanjak or Kanya Poojan, also called as Kumari Pujan, is a significant ritual related to the Hindu festival of Navratri done on the Ashtami in which little girls, preferably nine girls (called as Kanya – Kanjak in Punjabi) are worshiped in the nine form of goddess Durga. Many people think there are only two navratris in the year, one this Chaitra Navratri and the other before Dussehra but there are actually four navratris as per our ancient practices with the other two being ‘gupt’ or secret Navratris. The second Navratri and the first gupt Navratri is the Aashaadh Navratri celebrated during the Krishna Paksh of the Aashaadh month (which occurs around June-July) during which the Goddess is made happy by tantra sadhna. The third Navratri is the Sharadiya Navratri which is celebrated during the Shukla Paksh of the Sharad month (which occurs around September-October) till the Navmi which is considered the beginning of the winter season and the nine forms of Goddess Durga are prayed to during the nine days. The fourth and final Navratri of the year is the Magh Navratri (second Gupt Navratri) which is celebrated during the Shukla Paksh of the Paush Maas (December-January) during which prayers for secret Siddhis are done.

Here in Karnataka and Andhra-Telangana we celebrate the new year by the name Yugadi or Ugadi is derived from the Sanskrit words yuga (age) and ādi (beginning): “the beginning of a new age”. Yugadi or Ugadi falls on “Chaitra Shudhdha Paadyami” or the first day of the bright half of the Indian month of Chaitra. The Telugu, Kannada, Kodava and the Tulu diaspora in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu celebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast are ‘de rigueur’. The day begins early with ritual showers, rubbing the body with perfumed oil, followed by prayers.
Ugadi Pacchadi is a symbolic dish prepared by Hindu people on this festival.

Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a thorough clean. People buy new clothes, including dhoti, and buy new items for the festival, decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves. Mango leaves and coconuts are considered auspicious in the Hindu tradition, and they are used on Ugadi. People also clean the front of their house with water and cow dung paste, then draw colorful floral designs. People offer prayers in temples. The celebration of Ugadi is marked by religious zeal and social merriment. According to Vasudha Narayanan, a professor of Religion at the University of Florida:

The pacchadi festive dish symbolically reminds the people that the following year – as all of life – will consist of not just sweet experiences, but a combination of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter episodes. Just as the different substances are bound together, one is reminded that no event or episode is wholly good or bad. Even in the midst of bitter experiences, there are sweet moments. One is also reminded that the experience of taste is transitory and ephemeral; so too, is life, and one has to learn to put pain and pleasure in proper temporal perspective.

Special dishes are prepared for the occasion. In Karnataka, foods such as Holige or Obattu, and mango pickles are made. In addition, a speciality of yugadi in Karnataka is to create “bEvu-bella” a mixture of neem and jaggery. This symbolizes life’s own experiences with a little bit of bitternes and a hint of sweetness. In Andhra Pradesh, foods such as pulihora, bobbatlu (Bhakshalu/ polelu/ oligale), New Year Burelu and Pachadi, and preparations made with raw mango go well with the occasion. Of these, pachadi (or Ugadi pacchadi) is the most notable, and consists of a chutney-like dish which combines ingredients to give all six flavours of food (ṣaḍruculu) : sweet (tīpi), sour (pulupu), salty (uppu), spicy (kāraṁ), bitter (cēdu) and astringent (vagaru). This festive Hindu food is made from tamarind paste (sour), neem flowers (bitter), brown sugar or sweet jaggery (sweet), table salt (salt), green chilli (spicy) and raw mango (astringent). It is a symbolic reminder of complex phases of life one should reasonably expect in the new year.

Maharashtran Hindus refer to the festival, observed on the same day, as Gudi Padwa. The Sindhis celebrate the same day as Cheti Chand, which is the beginning of their calendar year as well as the Jayanti of Bhagwan Jhoole Lal. Manipuris also celebrate their New Year as Sajibu Nongma Panba on the same day.

The Hindus of Bali in Indonesia also celebrate their new year on the same day as Nyepi. Ugadi is one of the five Hindu national public holidays in Mauritius.
As per our scriptures, there are other significances of this day too. It is said that it was on the day of the Chaitra Pratipada that Brahma ji had created the universe. Thus, Satyuga had started on this day and it was the first day of the Kaal Chakra. Bhagwan Ram had killed Bali on this same day and it thus marked an important milestone towards his endeavour to bring back Sita ji from Lanka. It was also the day on which Yudhishthir had become the King. (Thus it is an important day both in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata). Finally, the Arya Samaj had also been established on this day.

After all these asides, I come back to how I had a holiday on 22nd March on occasion of Ugadi which also happened to be the day Pathaan was released on OTT platform Amazon Prime. After a solid lunch with some excellent puranpoli (sweet and savoury variants), I along with a close family decided to finally catch the movie. I have already talked about the plot above. The story line as such is fairly limited and I feel in terms of story depth and screen play there was a lot that could have been done (wish someone like Neelesh Mishra from Ek Tha Tiger could have been there to firm it up). The film keeps you seated but it is not a very pleasant experience. An ISI agent who helps India, A Raw Agent against India, Really?? Lots of elements remind you of the Mission Impossible series as well as Matrix and probably other Hollywood movies too. Shah Rukh and Deepika Padukone make their presence felt as does Salman Khan in this guest appearance as Tiger. However, for me, it is John Abraham as the villain Jim and Dimple Kapadia who plays Nandini Jaiswal as head of JOCR (not Joker but Joint Operations and Covert Research. We, the audience are the jokers!) who stand out in the acting department for me. They both played their roles very well and give an emotional depth to the movie. Without these two, I probably wouldn’t have sat through the whole movie. The animation standard could have been better (never mind the inspirations from the Hollywood movies I already mentioned) and leaves one missing the finesse one is used to in Hollywood blockbusters. Pathaan’s real name is not revealed (unlike Tiger’s whom we know as Avinash Singh Rathore though we do get the back story as to how he got the name due to an act of ‘bravery’ in an Afghan village) as is the quality storyline which one would have expected. Over all, I would say that if you have nothing else to do and like these actors, Go ahead and watch it. To say that it would be worth multiple watches is too much of a stretch. It is a one time watch masala film. SRK isn’t just a word! It’s an emotion for millions of fans across the world and will be loved by his die hard fans. For the rest, It doesn’t have that redeeming quality which defines timeless movies. Never mind the huge box office (if true).

I would now like to leave you with the lyrics of the title song, Jhoome Jo Pathaan. It is a nice dance number which is being loved by the kids (just the other day saw cricketer Irfan Pathan’s cute son dance to it with his father on Twitter) and is set in posh locales with good choreography. Worth seeing definitely as evident from the 402 Million views the song has already got on Youtube.

The hummable lyrics are by Kumaar who is a popular lyricist from Punjab known for his danceable songs and the music is by the Vishal-Shekhar duo. In some post in the future, I will discuss a bit about their careers. The composer duo are joined by Arijit Singh (flavour of the season or is it decade?) and Sukriti Kakkar in the singing department. I am sure this song will be playing in discos and all over for a while.

Here is the link to the video:-

Song Credits:
Music: Vishal and Sheykhar
Lyrics: Kumaar Singers: Arijit Singh, Sukriti Kakar, Vishal and Sheykhar
Director of Choreography: Bosco-Caesar
Recording At: YRF Studios (Abhishek Khandelwal, Chinmay Mestry, Dileep Nair)
Mixed By: Abhishek Khandelwal (YRF Studios), Dileep Nair (Assistant Mixing Engineer – YRF Studios)
Mastered By: Gethin John (Hafod Mastering, Wales UK)
Additional Music Credits:
Song Editor: Adele Pereira
Song Arranged By: Meghdeep Bose
Guitar: Meghdeep Bose

Video

Audio

Song-Jhoome jo pathan meri jaan (Pathan)(2023) Singers-Arijit Singh, Sukriti Kakar, Vishal, Sheykhar, Lyrics-Kumaar, MD-Vishal-Sheykhar

Lyrics

Tumne Mohabbat Karni Hai
Humne Mohabbat Ki Hai
Iss Dil Ke Alawa Kisi Se Bhi
Na Humne Ijaazat Li Hai

Hunar Hai Yeh Bhi Ishq Ka
Kisi Kisi Ko Aata Hai
Jaan Luta Ke Dushman Ki
Humne Hifaazat Ki Hai

Baat Karte Hain Hazaron
Hazaaron
Hai Tajurba Humein Yaaron
Haan Yaaron
Baat Karte Hain Hazaron
Hai Tajurba Humein Yaaron
Aisi Hai Ada
Bandh Loon Hawa
Mujhpe Woh Khuda
Dil Se Dua Barsaye
Jhoome Jo Pathaan Meri Jaan
Mehfil Hi Lut Jaaye
Dede Jo Zubaan Meri Jaan
Uspe Mar Mit Jaaye
Jhoome Jo Pathan Meri Jaan
Mehfil Hi Lut Jaaye
Dede Jo Zubaan Meri Jaan
Uspe Mar Mit Jaaye

Muqabla Kaise
Hum Karte Hain Yaar
Abki Baar Tareeka Hum Batayenge
Tareeka Hum Batayenge
Kaise Dushman Pe
Hum Marte Hain Yaar
Abki Baar Tareeka Hum Batayenge
Tarika Hum Batayenge
Yaar Karde Jo Ishaara
Ishaara
Dil Main De Doon Dobara
Dobara
Yaar Karde Jo Ishaara
Dil Main De Doon Dobara
Pyar Ka Nasha
Aisa Hai Chadha
Hoke Yoon Fida
Dushman Gale Lag Jaaye

Jhoome Jo Pathaan Meri Jaan
Mehfil Hi Lut Jaaye
Dede Jo Zubaan Meri Jaan
Uspe Mar Mit Jaaye

Jhoome Jo Pathan Meri Jaan
Mehfil Hi Lut Jaaye
Dede Jo Zubaan Meri Jaan
Uspe Mar Mit Jaaye

———————
Devnagri script Lyrics (Provided by Gajendra Khanna)
———————
तुमने मोहब्बत करनी है
हमने मोहब्बत की है
इस दिल के अलावा किसी से भी
न हमने इजाज़त ली है

हुनर है ये भी इश्क का
किसी किसी को आता है
जान लुटा के दुश्मन की
हमने हिफाज़त की है

बात करते हैं हज़ारों
हज़ारों
है तजुर्बा हमें यारों
हाँ यारों
बात करते हैं हज़ारों
है तजुर्बा हमें यारों
ऐसी है अदा
बाँध लूँ हवा
मुझपे वो खुदा
दिल से दुआ बरसाए
झूमे जो पठान मेरी जान
महफिल ही लुट जाए
दे दे जो ज़ुबान मेरी जान
उसपे मर मिट जाए

झूमे जो पठान मेरी जान
महफिल ही लुट जाए
दे दे जो ज़ुबान मेरी जान
उसपे मर मिट जाए

मुक़ाबला कैसे
हम करते हैं यार
अब की बार तरीका हम बताएँगे
तरीका हम बताएंगे
कैसे दुश्मन पे
हम मरते हैं यार
अब की बार तरीका हम बताएँगे
तरीका हम बताएँगे
यार कर दे जो इशारा
इशारा
दिल मैं दे दूँ दोबारा
दोबारा
यार कर दे जो इशारा
दिल मैं दे दूँ दोबारा
प्यार का नशा
ऐसा है चढ़ा
हो के यूँ फिदा
दुश्मन गले लग जाए

झूमे जो पठान मेरी जान
महफिल ही लुट जाए
दे दे जो ज़ुबान मेरी जान
उस पे मर मिट जाए

झूमे जो पठान मेरी जान
महफिल ही लुट जाए
दे दे जो ज़ुबान मेरी जान
उसपे मर मिट जाए