Since its release on January 25, Pathaan has grossed over Rs 950 crore worldwide.

Into its fifth week in Calcutta, the film is still drawing viewers. But the staggering numbers don’t tell the full story.

The Telegraph spoke to several urban moviegoers to find out what had drawn them back to the big screen to watch the film. Here are the accounts of two such people: one who watched the film in Calcutta and the other in Bangalore.

Actor Riddhi Sen, 24, a popular young face from the Calcutta stage and screen:

I loved the fact that the film is not pretentious. If you are going to watch Pathaan, expect an outright masala film. I want to see Shah Rukh in a larger-than-life image. Pathaan aims to be superficial, larger than life, and wants to entertain.

Pathaan is a very good answer to the entire Right-wing boycott propaganda doing the rounds for the past couple of years. It has shown that you can’t dictate the audience on morality. They can’t dictate how an ideal Indian should be: what to wear, what not to eat, why a saffron bikini.

Don’t go to watch Shah Rukh Khan’s films because he is a Muslim. The Indian audience has never been like that. I have seen my parents. An actor’s surname had nothing to do with the films they would watch. They went to see a hero or a heroine. They have done that this time too.

I also think that this boycott thing was nearing a saturation point. The Right-wing propagandist gang has been at it non-stop for some time now. The success of Pathaan has been a collective response, triggered by mass frustration among an Indian audience fed up with this boycott culture.

I also think that the condition of today’s India — ridden with poverty, unemployment and social fissures — is so bad that maybe people are looking out for mass entertainment. We have the privilege to go to a theatre and watch an “intellectual” film. But for a huge section of people, reality is so hard and so harsh that they look for a moment of escape. Inside a movie theatre, they want to forget their daily struggles for a couple of hours.

Shah Rukh Khan is probably the last of the biggest superstars in India. It is very difficult to run a propaganda campaign against him. His popularity is unprecedented. That is what sets him apart.

There is another thing. I don’t know if it’s sad or nice. Perhaps people want to see Shah Rukh Khan only like this. Nothing is set in stone. But the past few films, in which Shah Rukh had tried to create a different image, did not work. Perhaps people were waiting to see him like this.

Suchetana Dutta, 47, software developer, now works with a company in Bangalore

Usually, I take care to give films like Pathaan a miss. Decades ago, I saw Shah Rukh’s Fauji on TV. I remember watching his early films like Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Na and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. But I gave wide berth to the films he acted in after he became a star.

But what has been happening with the film industry over the past few years prompted me to change my stand. I think this trend started with Padmaavat (2018). The Karni Sena created a ruckus. That has now turned into this “Boycott Bollywood” call. I find it extremely disturbing. I went to watch Pathaan for this reason. I went to the opening show, which started at 7am.

At my age, managing domestic chores, then going to watch a film at 7am, and going to office from the theatre, is not easy. But I did it because I wanted to make a point in my own way. I wanted to boycott this boycott culture. The only way to protest this is by watching the film.

The show was packed. There was a long queue at that hour in the morning. I thought it was important to ensure that the opening show was packed. It sent out a strong message.

I was particularly interested in watching the Besharam Rang song because of the controversy created around it. I found nothing objectionable.

Shah Rukh Khan during a news conference on Pathaan. PTI picture

I had grown up on Phantom and Mandrake. I don’t have a problem watching unrealistic films. But I found the last scene in Pathaan very interesting. I think it was a masterstroke to have Shah Rukh and Salman (Khan) sit together and say that they could not leave their baton with anybody else. For me, the two Khans asserting that they were far from finished was a masterstroke from the director. For me, it was a witty reply to the boycott brigade.

My son, who is studying law in the UK, too has seen Pathaan to protest the “Boycott Bollywood” trend. He lives in Durham and went to neighbouring Newcastle to watch the film. He did not like the film much but felt that a stand had to be taken against this boycott culture.