Ahmedabad: After Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal sent theatres in Gujarat letters warning them to not screen Shah Rukh Khan's film Pathaan, the state government assured it will provide police protection for the film during the Republic Day weekend. The Multiplex Association of Gujarat sought help from Chief Minister Bhupendra Bhai Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi for security arrangements.
SRK's return to the screen after four years met with controversy after the first song was released. Many Hindutva followers called for a boycott over Deepika Padukone wearing an orange swimsuit in the song. Bollywood actors like Payal Rastogi said such reactions are due to Shah Rukh Khan's religion and growing islamophobia led by Hindutva outfits.
Gujarat VHP spokesperson Hitendrasinh Rajput has said that Pathaan's screening will not be permitted in Gujarat. "The protest against the film's release in Ahmedabad today should serve as a wake-up call to all theatre owners in the state. They must refrain from releasing the film in their theatres or multiplexes."
The Cinema Associations of the state in a letter addressed to authorities said there are many groups that are illegally targeting cinema exhibitors based on their own understanding and agendas by unlawfully threatening cinema exhibitors with dire consequences in terms of the safety and security of their property, staff, and movie-goers if certain movies are released.
Pathaan is expected to break box office records with hardcore action sequences and be part of Aditya Chopra's ambitious spy universe. It is the fourth film in the universe after Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), and War (2019). It also marks the point for the crossover of characters from one film to the other. Salman Khan will be playing an extended cameo in Pathaan by reprising his role as Tiger. These films are building up to a multi-starrer finale.
Pathaan also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. During the Diwali weekend of 2023, the Spy Universe is also set to release Tiger 3 starring Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Emraan Hashmi.