Salman, Shah Rukh to celebrate 60th birthday with Tiger Vs. Pathaan

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Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan have been great friends almost from the beginning, when Salman and his family offered the then-struggling outsider SRK a roof over his head, besides advice and help. They had a huge fallout in the last decade that polarized their fans into SRK- and Salman-haters.

But when animosity of this intensity happens, it is usually the result of deep friendship that has been hurt. Soon, the two actors patched up and their fans too forgot their mutual hatred for the other Khan. After the rapprochement, however, the box-office was not kind to their combo, with Shah Rukh’s cameo in Salman’s home production Tubelight in 2017 and Salman’s in SRK’s home production Zero in 2018 going bust with the films’ failure, so to speak.

But the Khans were made of sterner stuff, and Pathaan, early this year, set their combined ball rolling by becoming a blockbuster, with Salman’s cameo eliciting roars of approval, whether it was for Salman’s on-screen entry and the fight sequence, or the end-credits scene. Yash Raj Films’ spy universe was the obvious catalyst, and that had actually begun with Salman’s Ek Tha Tiger. In fact, buzz was widespread in 2012 (when Salman had begun his golden flop-free super-hit streak) that Ek Tha Tiger was given to exhibitors only if they agreed to screen Jab Tak Hai Jaan that was releasing as well about three months later, for SRK was passing through a lean period in his Indian b-o. figures.

It was revealed long ago that SRK will be playing Pathaan in a cameo also in the forthcoming Tiger 3, and now comes the stupendous news that YRF will be making a film with both in the lead, intriguingly titled Tiger Vs. Pathaan.

The film will be directed by Siddharth Anand, the Pathaan director, and reports are that it will be released in 2025, when Salman and SRK both celebrate their 60^th birthdays—SRK on November 2, and Salman on December 9. It will also mark 30 years since they first came together in Karan Arjun, a mega-grosser that year.

(The two superstar subsequently worked together in Om Shanti Om, SRK’s home production in 2007, wherein Salman had made a cameo as himself, 1998’s biggest hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, the 2000 film Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, in which SRK made a special appearance,  and the 2002 modest success Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam).

What’s more, with War 2 now being said to have planned its release before Tiger 3 (though this news seems to be a figment of someone’s feverish imagination) , the YRF Spy Universe is becoming prolific. And Tiger Vs. Pathaan will reportedly be made at the astronomical cost of Rs. 300 crore, minus star fees, because apparently both the stars have agreed to take a profit share and no outright remuneration!

The title can only suggest one of two main possibilities in plot: One, that they are competing to solve a case or trap the villain first, or two, either has gone temporarily rogue because of a misunderstanding.

But now we have the final very interesting rider: YRF is neither denying nor confirming either news. So watch this space for further news.