'Burj Khalifa Boulevard was shut down for SRK's Pathaan shoot': BTS video reveals

Undoubtedly, the Sidharth Anand directorial has set a new benchmark for action movies in Bollywood and the video only vouches for the same.

It has now been learnt that the Burj Khalifa Boulevard in Dubai was “shut down for the first time,” only and only for the shooting of Pathaan.

The video shows how the “toughest action” scenes between SRK, playing the titular role of Pathaan, and John as Jim was shot at the “magnificent Dubai boulevard”.

Siddharth Anand, who is known for action movies such as War and Bang Bang!, revealed that the sequences where Pathaan and Jim are fighting on a moving train, “mid-air with planes” and at the boulevard around the Burj Khalifa were the hardest to shoot.

“The toughest action to execute in Pathaan – one is on top of a moving train, one is mid-air with planes, one is in Dubai which takes place in the boulevard around the Burj Khalifa (the one where Jim pulls down helicopters), which no Hollywood film has been able to do. To shoot this sequence in Dubai, it just looked impossible. But the Dubai police and the authorities made it happen for us,” the director said in the video.

The scene in question starts with a high-speed car chase, where Jim stands in the middle of the road and targets Pathaan's vehicle. It is followed by their fight atop a speeding truck as two helicopters hover over them.

Siddharth added, “My friends, who live at the boulevard, came and told me that they got circulars saying on this day between this time, you will not be able to access the boulevard so please plan your days. And they were amazed that, oh my god… that's for my film!” The director then thanked the Dubai police and authorities for their unwavering support.

In Pathaan, SRK plays the role of a covert ops agent while John Abraham portrays the antagonist and former RAW agent Jim. Deepika Padukone plays the role of ISI agent Rubai.

Shah Rukh Khan described the experience of shooting in Dubai as “wonderful.”

He said, “Dubai has been very, very kind to me, me and everyone who goes from Indian cinema. The production team called up the authorities and said, ‘We are shooting a scene with Shah Rukh,' and they said, ‘No, no, please go ahead, he is our brand ambassador. Please take this permission, finish it off fast but we will allow you to shoot it.' I think Dubai, film industry wise, is the most international film producing nation…The experience is always wonderful to shoot in Dubai.”

Pathaan has emerged as the highest-earning film in Bollywood already.

The Hindi version of the film, in India, has collected over Rs. 436 crores as of now while the overall collections of the film at home have reached Rs. 452.95 crores, as per trade analyst Taran Adarsh.