Siddharth Anand’s Pathan sees Shah Rukh Khan as a Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) officer, with Dimple Kapadia’s character heading India’s foreign intelligence agency. Now, a new recruit has been added to the RAW roster. Word is that Ashutosh Rana plays a senior officer in the espionage thriller that also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham.

His casting is yet another move by producer Aditya Chopra to further the idea of a crossover between the spy thrillers coming out of his stable. “Ashutosh played RAW joint secretary Colonel Sunil Luthra in Hrithik Roshan’s War [2019]. It was Adi and Siddharth’s idea to have the actor reprise his role in Pathan. The actor shot some important sequences with Shah Rukh and Dimple at Yash Raj Studios in Andheri, a few days ago. It is heard that Dimple and Ashutosh’s characters will mastermind the mission that will see the protagonist lock horns with John, who plays the baddie,” reveals a trade source.

With the big-ticket project, Chopra intends to position Kapadia and Rana’s characters as senior intelligence officers who will feature in his future productions in the espionage franchise. The troika will be complete when the producer finds a suitable actor to play the role of Salman Khan’s on-screen boss in Tiger 3, another spy drama from the Yash Raj Films banner. Late playwright-actor Girish Karnad had essayed the role of RAW chief, Dr Shenoy, in Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017).