Shah Rukh Khan made a triumphant return to cinema in 2023 with Pathaan, ending a nearly five-year hiatus after Zero (2018). The film shattered box office records, grossing over Rs 1000 crore worldwide. While Pathaan was widely appreciated, one particular dialogue delivered by SRK sparked considerable discussion.
The line – “A soldier doesn’t ask what his country can do for him, he asks what he can do for his country” – bears resemblance to John F. Kennedy’s famous quote: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” Interestingly, the film’s dialogue writer, Abbas Tyrewala, was not in favor of including it.
In a recent interview with Lallantop, Tyrewala revealed, “I was never in favour of the Kennedy line, but it was a battle I lost. I never wanted to use such an old line in that film. I was judging that line too much. But if people liked it, the credit should go to Siddharth Anand, Aditya Chopra, and Sridhar Raghavan. They were extremely convinced that no other line would justify this particular scene.”
He further admitted, “I believed that there could be nothing more boring than this line. But I lost that battle. If people are loving it today, it proves that dialogue writers are not necessarily right all the time and the importance of discussing scripts with more people involved in the film. Some things happen that they don’t belong to you, but people remember you for them.”
Directed by Siddharth Anand, Pathaan also starred Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in pivotal roles, with a special cameo by Salman Khan. The film was part of YRF’s spy universe and set the stage for more high-octane action thrillers to come.
