Ram Gopal Varma says Shah Rukh Khan put a brake on ‘South wave’ with Pathaan: ‘There was a myth no Bollywood film will work’

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma recently shared his thoughts on Shah Rukh Khan’s film Pathaan, stating that it put an end to the North vs. South debate in the film industry. According to the director, Pathaan defied the perception that only South films could succeed as Bollywood films struggled. He emphasized that in the end, the success of a film is what truly matters, regardless of its regional origin.

In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Varma said, “One thing Pathaan did was to put a brake on this whole South wave. There was this perception that there was more acceptance for South films and that no Bollywood film is going to work anymore. This was when Kantara, RRR and KGF – Chapter 2 were doing wonders at the box office. Pathaan stopped that myth as a blockbuster was delivered by a Hindi film star, Hindi director and Hindi producer.”

He added, “Eventually, it’s a film that works. It’s not about the South and North. We have a tendency to label things. Whether S S Rajamouli is born in Gujarat or Odisha, he’ll still make the same film!”

 

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Despite facing calls for a boycott from certain lobbies, Shah Rukh made a massive comeback with the film Pathaan.  The film became the highest grossing film of 2023 and made Rs 543 crores in India alone. The film also features John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana in pivotal roles. Helmed by Siddharth Anand, the film minted more than Rs 1000 crores globally. Shah Rukh will next be seen in Atlee’s Jawan and Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki.