Awareness around Shah Rukh Khan is so high, our productions take more beating: Red Chillies COO rationalises bad reviews

Red Chillies COO Gaurav Verma has a reasoning behind why some of the company's shows and films 'take more beating' than others, and it has to do with Shah Rukh Khan's popularity.

Gaurav Verma, the Chief Operating Officer of Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment banner, has said that the actor is ready to return to the big screen, after having taken a three-year sabbatical.

Shah Rukh Khan will soon be seen in Pathan.

Shah Rukh's last release was Zero, a critical and commercial disappointment. The actor has since been on a break, and had previously said that he is using the time to reevaluate creative plans and spend time with his family.

In an interview with Pinkvilla, Gaurav said that Shah Rukh will announce his future plans himself. "Lots is happening on that front," Gaurav said, when asked about the possibility of Shah Rukh appearing in a home production. "But that's for Mr Khan to announce. There is a lot of speculation in the market, but this announcement belongs to him. He's taken a sabbatical, he's taken a good break where he has identified multiple scripts, so hopefully he should be announcing soon."

Shah Rukh is all but confirmed to be making his comeback with Pathan, an action film directed by Siddharth Anand and co-starring Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. While neither Shah Rukh nor Yash Raj Films have officially announced the film, Deepika and Salman Khan (who appears in a cameo in it), have spoken about it publicly.

Gaurav also spoke about the poor critical and fan reception many of Shah Rukh's recent projects have been getting. He said that because projects involving Shah Rukh draw unusual attention, they also open themselves up to be scrutinised. "The awareness around the product is so high, the expectations are high. Maybe that's the reason why some of our films and shows take more beating that other films and shows."

In recent years, Red Chillies has produced films and series such as Badla, Kaamyaab, Class of 83, Betaal, and Bard of Blood. The latter, Gaurav said, should return for a second season.