In exactly 55 days, fans will be all set to welcome Shah Rukh Khan back to the silver screens again. Though he never left, his hiatus has been for five years now. The actor now is gearing up for the upcoming action entertainer Pathaan which is a part of Yash Raj Films’ 50^th anniversary. Directed by Siddharth Anand, the actor recently said that no one was approaching him for action films before Pathaan came along.

Shah Rukh Khan on Thursday attended the Red Sea Festival in Saudi Arabia for the special screening of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. The actor spoke to Deadline about Pathaan and why he wants to do action movies. “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."

Shah Rukh Khan went on to explain that India is evolving massively in terms of technology. "I think we've gone ahead leaps and bounds so I want to use all that knowledge," Khan added.

Back in June 2022, Shah Rukh Khan had revealed why he wanted to do Pathaan. “When we started shooting Pathaan, it was a lot of fun. It is an action film with wonderful co-actors Deepika Padukone, John Abraham and Ashutosh Rana among others,” he explained, “It is the kind of film I wanted to do for 30 years. I always thought of myself as somebody who can do some cool action stuff. So, I think my impression about Pathaan is that what I really wanted to do when I first came to Mumbai, hopefully I have achieved that in Pathaan as an actor.”

He admitted that he wanted to be an action hero in his 20s but is enjoying the process in his 50s too. “I enjoyed it. It is fun having to do action. It is a little late (referring to his age). At the age of 56, I am being macho and solid, trying to make it work. Siddharth and the whole action team has put in a lot of hard work. Hopefully, it will work,” he smiled.

“I remember Siddharth narrating a lot of films to me. Unfortunately, we could not find the right time to collaborate for years. He had this title called Pathaan with him. And he would tell me that, ‘Sir, maine film ready kar li hai.’ One fine day, when we could not work on the two scripts he narrated, he sent me a sweet message, which read, ‘I have this title. I have not been able to get a film with you. Now, please take the title and make a film whenever you want,'” Shah Rukh Khan said revealing that Siddharth Anand came back to him with a new script. “The film has had a long journey. And soon, you all will be able to see it,” he said.

Pathaan is set to release on January 25, 2023, in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu!

ALSO READ: Shah Rukh Khan performs Umrah at Mecca after wrapping up Dunki in Saudi Arabia, see photos