Shah Rukh Khan responding to criticism through his movies is a triumphant act.

When they said he's playing the same version of Raj and Rahul over and over again, he parodied his romantic monotony and signature pose to hilarious results in Om Shanti Om.

When they bullied him and called for his boycott and played dirty, divisive politics, he fought hate with Pathaan's patriotism of love that had Indian swarming to theatres in thundering unision.

When his kid was caught in the cross fire intended to shut him down, pats comes the rejoinder in Jawan's crackling dialogue, 'Bete ko haath lagane se pehle baap se baat karo.'

Like Pathaan, his brand new action masala movie, Jawan is also a product of enormous hype and hoopla that relies on SRK's stardom on screen and fandom off it to show he's King Khan.

As expected of an event movie of this stature, it plays on the mass sentiment, bells, whistles et al.

Once again, SRK finds a worthy companion in Deepika Padukone’s brief but poignant presence and an equal nemesis in Vijay Sethupati’s deadly, deadpan, die-hard ogre.

Directed by Tamil film industry’s whiz kid Atlee, its villains versus vigilantes contest ticks off the filmmakers well-known penchant for an anarchist brand of justice seeking, frequent flashbacks and leading men in multiple avatars.

Where Pathaan was a moment of reassurance from and for SRK, Jawan, where he’s accompanied by a battery of women, reiterates he’s got the audience wrapped around the finger in a high-octane drama that compensates for lack of sharps and slyness with swagger, style and soft barbs at the system.

Beyond its comic book entertainment chronicling the age old war between good and evil, Jawan springs a real surprise when it boldly and directly points fingers at the ineffective government and appeals to recognise the power of the finger and vote.

Few months before the next general Indian election, this is no coincidence.