Jawan: What to know about Shah Rukh Khan and Nayanthara's blockbuster

Film blends A-list stars from across South India and Bollywood cinema, big-action spectacles and viral songs

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan. All photos: Yash Raj Films

South Indian star Nayanthara makes her Bollywood debut in Jawan

Nayanthara plays agent Narmada

Deepika Padukone has a cameo

Vijay Sethupathi as notorious arms dealer Kalee

Khan plays a dual role in the film

Girija Oak plays a member of Khan's character's squad

Sanjeeta Bhattacharya in Jawan

Singer Aaliya Qureishi makes her Bollywood debut with Jawan

Lehar Khan in the film

Jawan is Nayanthara's first Bollywood film

Sanya Malhotra plays a doctor

Khan in a scene from the film

The action thriller is directed by Atlee, best known for his blockbuster Tamil films

Eight months after he staged the comeback of the year and smashed box office records with Pathaan, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan will be hoping to repeat the success with Jawan.

This time he has Nayanthara for company in the highly anticipated film. Popularly referred to as the "lady superstar" of South Indian cinema, she is known for her work in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. Jawan marks her Bollywood and Hindi-language debut.

The action thriller is also the first Bollywood film for director Atlee, the acclaimed filmmaker behind record-breaking Tamil blockbusters Mersal (2017) and Bigil (2019). It's also South Indian music star Anirudh's first fully-fledged Hindi film project as a composer.

Produced by Khan's wife, Gauri Khan, under their Red Chillies Entertainment banner, the film was made for a reported 3 billion rupees ($36 million).

What is Jawan about?

Fans of Khan will be able to enjoy not one, but two characters of his – he has a dual role in Jawan. As Vikram Rathod, he plays a Robinhood-style former soldier who hijacks the Mumbai Metro and presents the government with a set of demands so he can catch notorious arms dealer Kalee (Vijay Sethupathi).

Kalee, meanwhile, is on a mission to obliterate Azad Rathod, also played by Khan, who is an honest police officer and the estranged son of Vikram.

Nayanthara plays an officer tasked with stopping Vikram, who's joined by a squad of six women.

Aspiring pop star Aaliyah Qureishi, who makes her Bollywood debut as a member of Vikram's squad, recently told The National that fans can look forward to “Atlee's visionary flair with all of Shah Rukh Khan's charisma and style.”

“You can look forward to a really fun and exciting film, which also has a really good message at its heart. You can also look forward to seeing us girls beat up some very big guys," she said.

Who else is in the cast?

Besides Khan and Nayanthara in lead roles, Jawan features the aforementioned South Indian actor Sethupathi as Kalee.

Other cast members include South India's Priya Mani Raj and Yogi Babu as well as Sanya Malhotra, Riddhi Dogra, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Girija Oak, Lehar Khan and Sunil Grover.

Khan's Pathaan co-star Deepika Padukone has a cameo in the film while South Indian superstar Vijay – who has starred in three of Atlee's biggest films – and Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt are also rumoured to make guest appearances.

How many songs have been released?

Three songs from Jawan have been released so far. The first one, Zinda Banda, released on July 31, has more than 64 million views on YouTube. Chaleya, the second song featuring Khan and Nayanthara, released on August 14, has more than 57 million views. The third single, Not Ramaiya Vastavaiya, was released on August 29 and has more than 33 million views.

Last Thursday, an Arabic version of Chaleya was released featuring Moroccan music couple Grini and Jamila El Badaoui.

Composer Anirudh, who announced himself with his viral hit Why this Kolaveri Di in 2011, shared his excitement about his Bollywood debut with Khan.

"Dreams do come true and how! We make our debut with none other than the King," he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, tagging Khan.

Indian record label T-Series bought the music rights of Jawan for a reported 320 million rupees ($3.8 million), a record price for a Hindi album.

Khan brings Jawan to Dubai

Last week, the Dubai Fountain was a sea of red as thousands flocked to see Khan launch the trailer of Jawan, which was projected onto Burj Khalifa.

Khan, wearing a sparkling red jacket, arrived through a side entrance at The Dubai Mall and was escorted to a makeshift stage on the lagoon.

He addressed the crowd saying the film has all the elements expected from a Bollywood blockbuster.

“The film is two hours and 45 minutes, and it is full of amazing action, comedy, romance and humour,” he said. “The film also talks about the people who are less fortunate than you and I and how we must give them justice. I hope you will enjoy the film because I believe it can be enjoyed by anyone."

Jawan is being released globally in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada in addition to Hindi on September 7