Yash Raj Films has released a trailer for much anticipated Bollywood film “Pathaan,” starring superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham.

After a dismal 2022 where flops far outnumbered hits among Hindi-language films, and which ended with the box office failure of Ranveer Singh’s “Cirkus” on which Bollywood analysts were resting their revival hopes, “Pathaan” is the first flag bearer for the beleaguered industry for 2023.

“Pathaan” is also the comeback film for Khan, known as one of the great romantic stars of Bollywood. Some of his last few films have underperformed at the box office and his most recent release as a solo hero was “Zero” in 2018. He has since had cameos in “Laal Singh Chaddha” and “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva.”

However, “Pathaan” has been in the eye of a storm after lawmakers belonging to India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party, the Bjp, took umbrage to the “Besharam...