Siddharth Anand To Direct Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan's 'Tiger vs Pathaan'

Shah Rukh Khan was seen as an agent in the action film Pathaan (2023), the biggest commercial hit of his career, while Salman Khan played a fictional RAW agent in two YRF spy films – the first film Ek Tha Tiger (2012) directed by Kabir Khan, and its sequel Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) made by filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar. Salman had a cameo role in Pathaan, also directed by Siddharth Anand. 

“Aditya Chopra has immense trust in Siddharth Anand to deliver a grand visual spectacle that has never been seen before with Tiger vs Pathaan,” a trade source was quoted as saying in a new Deadline report. “Siddharth is getting a dream cast of Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan coming together for their first full fledged film since Karan Arjun and Siddharth will also be given all the support he needs to mount Tiger vs Pathaan as the biggest film that India has ever produced," said a source.

YRF’s spy universe, apart from the first two Tiger films, includes War (2019) featuring Hrithik Roshan as a RAW agent. The film also featured Tiger Shroff. The third film in the Tiger franchise, again starring Salman Khan, is scheduled for release during Diwali this year. War 2 featuring Hrithik, directed by filmmaker Ayan Mukerji, is reportedly also in the works. Shah Rukh's Pathaan was the fourth film in the YRF spy universe. The film also featured Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Dimple Kapadia, and Ashutosh Rana.

In the film, Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan), an exiled RAW agent, works with ISI agent Rubina Mohsin (Deepika Padukone) to take down Jim (John Abraham), a former RAW agent planning to spread a deadly lab-generated virus across India. Pathaan was released in theatres on January 25, 2023, around the Republic Day holiday, and received mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences. It is the highest-grossing Indian film of 2023.