No hero without a villain

Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham

If his past two slick actioners have taught director Siddharth Anand something, it's that a hero is only as good as his villain. Which is why when he took on the responsibility of bringing Shah Rukh Khan back to the big screen after four years, the filmmaker knew that his hunt for the antagonist wouldn't be easy. Enter John Abraham. The director envisioned Abraham's character Jim as a stylish, cool antagonist, constantly thwarting the best-laid plans of Khan's Pathaan.

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Siddharth Anand

As he shares the exclusive look of Abraham's character, Anand says he wanted Jim to be as powerful as the hero to raise the stakes of their battle. "I have always believed that the villain's projection should be as big as, if not bigger than, that of the hero. Only when the villain is massive, can the tussle between them be spectacular. We have an extraordinary battle when Shah Rukh takes on John, " says Anand. Pathaan, also starring Deepika Padukone, sees Khan play an R&AW agent who resurfaces after being caught in his last mission three years ago.