Pathaan star Shah Rukh Khan expressed his gratitude for the film's massive box-office success. The fourth installment in the YRF Spy Universe, co-starring Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, saw Khan return to the screen in a leading role for the first time since 2018's Zero, which was the biggest box-office flop of Khan's career. However, Pathaan broke several Bollywood box office records, including the highest-grossing of Khan's career and the second-highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, behind Nitesh Tiwari's Dangal.

On Twitter, Khan expressed his gratitude for the Pathaan's commercial success. Check out what he said on the matter below:

Thanking everyone who supported the film and worked on it, Khan stated that if they did not take the goal of entertaining audiences seriously, Pathaan wouldn't have worked as a critical and commercial hit for Bollywood.

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Why Pathaan's Success Was Important for Bollywood & Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Kahn; Deepika Padukone; John Abraham in Pathaan poster

After COVID-19 lockdowns, many high-profile Bollywood films, such as Shamshera, Laal Singh Chaddha, and Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, were either poorly received by critics or bombed at the box office. Khan briefly appeared in Laal Singh Chaddha and the opening moments of Brahmāstra Part One – Shiva but had not led a movie in five years. Meanwhile, Telugu cinema enjoyed incredible crossover success with the release of S.S. Rajamouli's RRR, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Pathaan's success was important not only for the current state of Bollywood films but also for Khan's star power. Known as "The King of Bollywood," Khan starred in many critical and commercial successes, which include Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Mohabbatein, Om Shanti Om, and Chennai Express. However, Khan's most recent leading roles were not commercial hits, and Indian audiences longed for the star's comeback in a film that solidified the actor's stardom as one of the greatest actors in Indian cinema history. Returning to the screen by starring in an already lucrative cinematic universe of spy films seemed like the comeback for Khan to reclaim his throne as the King of Bollywood once more.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the YRF Spy Universe had already established itself as a box office powerhouse. The previous installment, War, starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, was the highest-grossing overall Indian film of 2019. Siddharth Anand, who helmed War, also directed Pathaan. The stage was then set for Khan to make his triumphant return to the big screen while also collaborating with Padukone, who has been a love interest in many of Khan's previous films. Positive reviews and incredible attendance from audiences worldwide made Pathaan one of the biggest Indian films of all time and saved Bollywood's stature.

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Source: Shah Rukh Khan/Twitter