After 30 years in Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan has carved a name for himself in gold as the King of Romance. Winning audiences over with his effortless charisma on the silver screen, SRK’s back catalog boasts well over 100 films with iconic performances in classics such as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. His cultural impact extends far beyond the screen with Khan’s performances unifying lovers of his films around the world. After three decades of wooing Bollywood’s finest stars on-screen, Khan left his loyal fan base heartbroken when he announced he would be stepping away from romantic films for good earlier this year. Just months before his 57th birthday Khan explained that he felt "too old" to continue playing a romantic hero.

After four years away Khan is on the cusp of releasing his first-ever action movie Pathaan. Speaking about the film at the Red Sea Festival, Khan told Deadline how he struggled to get a look in on action films after establishing himself in romance. “I’ve never done an action film, I’ve done really sweet love stories, I’ve done some social dramas, I’ve done some bad guys, but nobody was taking me for action," he explained. "I’m 57 years old, and I thought for the next years I have to do action films, I want to do Mission Impossible-ish kind of films. I want to do over-the-top kind of action films." The actor went on to explain that the technology of filmmaking in India has massively evolved in recent years. Remarkably, Khan took this knowledge, integrated it with his production company Red Chillies Entertainment and then committed the last decade to really learning special effects before creating Pathaan. "I think we've gone ahead leaps and bounds so I want to use all that knowledge," Khan added.

In true SRK style, he did not give away much about the actual plot of the film itself but it has been widely suggested he will take on the titular role of undercover officer Pathaan. A first teaser for the movie shared a few weeks ago also alludes to the same. At first glance, the trailer appears to suggest SRK has been every bit successful in leading in a Mission Impossible-style film with outrageous action sequences taking center stage alongside the integration of boundary-pushing technology. It doesn't get more Tom Cruise than that. Determined to earn his place in the genre, the film takes place all over the world with elaborate stunts and sequences shot in Spain, Russia, Dubai and Somalia to name a few.

Shah Rukh Khan in Pathaan
Image via Yash Raj Films

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Khan has welcomed this next chapter with grace and is clearly adamant that is where he intends to devote his efforts. In fact, Pathaan is the first of three massive releases for the megastar slated for release in 2023. His second release Jawan is also expected to be an action epic but details on his third release Dunki are yet to be unveiled. It looks like audiences have a lot of action-hero SRK to look forward to next year. Who knows, maybe this will be his next crowning era.

Pathaan is slated for theatrical release on January 25. You can watch the teaser trailer below.