Bollywood royalty Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback plans have now fully taken shape. After elaborate announcements for two films—Pathaan and Dunki—the “Badshaah of Bollywood” (King of Bollywood) recently unveiled a teaser for his action-thriller Jawan, directed by Atlee. “Jawan” literally means “young,” but in the context of the film, it could imply that Khan’s character is a soldier of some kind as soldiers are referred to as “jawans” in Hindi.
The teaser opens with a shot of a desolate outpost, where a man is whistling a menacing tune. He is revealed to be Khan’s character, wrapping tattered bandages on his face. There’s an old-timey television next to him, and a chest full of ammo underneath a tarp. A walkie buzzes to life, and a woman says, “Good to go, chief.” Khan’s character—let’s call him Jawan—cackles, and growls back, “Ready.”
Jawan’s face, or at least what little of it can be seen from under the hastily wrapped bandages, appears to be bloodied. Perhaps the bandages are a makeshift remedy for whatever injuries Jawan has sustained. There’s probably an interesting backstory there, and if you consider the character’s visual similarities to the Joker from Gotham, it opens up a Pandora’s box of possibilities. But an argument could be made that he looks more like the main character from Timecrimes, or maybe even The Weeknd in his “Blinding Lights” era.
The ninety-second teaser ends with shots of Jawan at a train station, waiting on a bench. He has a duffel bag filled with weapons next to him, and his hands are wrapped in bandages as well. It does seem like the “jawan” of the title is a reference to the character’s military past.
Jawan will be Khan’s third film for 2023, which he’ll kick off with a starring role in director Siddharth Anand’s Pathaan, a patriotic action-thriller that marks Khan’s return to acting after 2018’s Zero. The actor went on a sabbatical after Zero bombed, and said in several interviews that he is looking to creatively recalibrate. After Jawan, he’ll star in hitmaker Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, about which very little is known, aside from the fact that it’s going to be a Christmas release.
Jawan will be released in several Indian languages. In addition to Hindi, the film will also get a Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada release. This appears to be a clear play for the South Indian markets, which have become the dominant filmmaking hubs in the country in the last couple of years. A great example of this is the Telugu film RRR, which broke records in India, and was recently re-released in U.S. theaters to enthusiastic response. Atlee, of course, is a filmmaker best known for his work in the Tamil language industry. This is his first Hindi film, but the style—the loud theme music and the myth-making majesty—is very much a staple of mainstream Tamil films.
Khan is perhaps one of the world’s biggest stars, and has reportedly also been name-dropped in the upcoming Disney+ series Ms. Marvel; the titular character is a fan. Three SRK films in one year should more than make up for his extended absence from cinemas. Jawan is slated for a June 2, 2023, release. You can watch the teaser here:
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