Pathaan

References

Pathaan

film by Anand [2023]

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 22, 2026

Quick Summary

The term "Pathan" refers to a Pashtun person, originating from Hindi and Urdu. In the context of film, Pathaan is a 2023 Bollywood spy thriller starring Shah Rukh Khan. It is the fourth film in the YRF Spy Universe, a shared cinematic universe of spy films produced by Yash Raj Films. The film centers on an agent codenamed Pathaan, who must stop a former RAW agent from unleashing a bioweapon. Pathaan is the highest-grossing film in the YRF Spy Universe, having earned over 1,000 crore rupees worldwide.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Bollywood
The future of Bollywood
…2023 with the blockbusters Jawan, Pathaan, Gadar 2, and Animal, but shrinking profits remain a concern for the Hindi industry.
Read More
…2023 with the blockbusters Jawan, Pathaan, Gadar 2, and Animal, but shrinking profits remain a concern for the Hindi industry.
Read More

List of Highest-Grossing Indian Films
…Padukone 1,160 (about $139 million) Pathaan 2023 Siddharth Anand Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham 1,055 (about $129 million) Kalki 2898 AD 2024 Nag Ashwin Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan 1,042 (about $124 million) Bajrangi Bhaijaan 2015 Kabir
Read More
…Padukone 1,160 (about $139 million) Pathaan 2023 Siddharth Anand Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham 1,055 (about $129 million) Kalki 2898 AD 2024 Nag Ashwin Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan 1,042 (about $124 million) Bajrangi Bhaijaan 2015 Kabir
Read More

Deepika Padukone
Model, actress, and producer
She appeared in Bollywood blockbusters Pathaan and Jawan in 2023, both starring Khan. In 2024 she acted with Hrithik Roshan in Fighter, a movie about aviators, costarred with Prabhas, Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan in the science fiction blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD, and played a police officer in Singham Again.
Read More
She appeared in Bollywood blockbusters Pathaan and Jawan in 2023, both starring Khan. In 2024 she acted with Hrithik Roshan in Fighter, a movie about aviators, costarred with Prabhas, Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan in the science fiction blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD, and played a police officer in Singham Again.
Read More

YRF Spy Universe
Pathaan
Pathaan, the fourth film in the timeline, is the conceptual genesis point of the YRF Spy Universe. It is set in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India that removed the high degree of autonomy that had been given…
Read More
Pathaan, the fourth film in the timeline, is the conceptual genesis point of the YRF Spy Universe. It is set in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India that removed the high degree of autonomy that had been given…
Read More