Fan (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – Gaurav, a huge fan of movie star Aryan Khanna, heads to Mumbai in order to wish his God a happy birthday. When things don’t go according to plan, Gaurav’s obsession with Aryan crosses the line.

My Take – Let me get this out of the way 1st – Yes! I am an SRK fan boy since the time I have been into Bollywood films. But based on the films he has been starring (as well as producing) in the last few years, the admiration for arguably one of the biggest superstars in the world has been placed in an awkward shaky position. Films like Ra One (2011), Chennai Express (2013), Happy New Year (2014) and Dilwale (2015), don’t provide enough justice to his acting caliber as well as his on screen and off screen persona. But alas it looks like its time for him to win back his millions fans & put an end to the numerous trolls by hater fandom, as the star out does himself in this thriller. Yup, this is the return of the actor who was too engrossed in working with friendly directors to see that these ‘friends’ were doing to his career exactly what the fan sets out to do to the career of Aryan Khanna (one of his character in the film). Being song-less is another fact that separates this film from his usual YRF ventures. There are in fact two Shah Rukh Khans in it. One, who pretty much plays himself. The other, who plays his biggest fan ever. So let me get past the initial apprehensions first. Shah Rukh has played a super-star at least twice before on screen, both films he produced himself—Om Shanti Om (2007), and Billu Barber (2009), which was a remake of Rajnikanth’s Kuselan (If anything, Fan deserves to be remade in the South, like, right now). This is apart from a two-part documentary (Inner And Outer World Of Shah Rukh Khan), on his own life that was also produced by his company; and yet another one with full-access to his personal space (Shah Rukh Khan Revealed) that was done for Discovery. Besides, self-aware SRK has done various cameos as himself (Luck By Chance etc.). He’s lately been parodying his movie persona in his movies anyways. After all of that, sitting through two Superstar SRKs over 142 minutes could seem like a chore or bore—if you’re not a fanatic yourself, or at the very least, merely interested in watching a film. Sure there’s a lot of the usual narcissism going on.

To be fair, the fears were almost wholly unfounded. But the film manages to keep you glued to the screen hereby leaving a genuine and real impact. And that’s because quite early on in the movie you’re able to tell that the fellow playing the role of Shah Rukh Khan’s devotee isn’t Shah Rukh Khan himself. It is very much Shah Rukh Khan, delivering his finest performance since 2010s My Name is Khan. Yash Chopra’s Darr (1993) was pretty much the movie that took Shah Rukh Khan into the big league in Bollywood (DDLJ happened in 1995). Is this some sort of reprisal or homage to Darr by the same makers? It could be—if you look at it one way. The story follows Gaurav Chandna (Shah Rukh Khan), a middle youngster living in Delhi with this parents. Being a doppelganger he has based his whole life around his favorite movie star Aryan Khanna (Shah Rukh Khan). He wins superstar lookalike contests in his neighborhood, and runs a cyber café in the local market. On Khanna’s birthday, he goes to Mumbai to give him a special present but like every superstar, Khanna is too busy to entertain every fan of his. In order to show his special dedication and love, Gaurav does some terrible things. Which does catch Aryan’s attention but reciprocates in a rather negative matter which breaks Gaurav’s heart & leaves him feeling betrayed. The action sequence shown in the film is one of a kind and has drama in every bit of it. If you are expecting to see a film that will deliver a typical fan-meet-star type of plot-line, then this is not your cup of tea. While the plot does closely remind of the Robert De Niro – Wesley Snipes starrer The Fan (1996), director Maneesh Sharma makes sure that in spite of the difficult-to-believe plot and the seemingly simplistic portrayal of how a Bollywood star functions, the film does have a big thing going for it. For the first hour of the film, director Maneesh Sharma keeps the story moving smoothly. But it eventually suffers from over-plotting and a grievous lack of logic. Would you believe a superstar could be arrested in a foreign land and denied his lawyer for a day? There are many such silly instances in the film that you’ll never buy. But Maneesh doesn’t seem to care. His faith on his material is moving. Gaurav uses his Aryan Khanna-ish face to his advantage. In a matter of days, Aryan loses his good name, his stardom and the mudslinging damages his career of 25 years. The love for a cinema star is no different perhaps. This film closely examines that mildly frightening part of ‘celebrity culture’. It’s probably equally true for a lot of lookalike movie-star aspirants, who show up in showbiz every other day, hoping to make it on the big screen some day. Gaurav does look like his hero Aaryan (obviously). But this is about one fan, or potentially a sycophant Gaurav. He decides to literally mimic his hero’s journey, by traveling “WT” (without train ticket, even though he can afford one), from Delhi to Bombay, checking into the exact same hotel and room as his idol once did, moving cities for work. Gaurav has probably watched every Aryan film many times over. Such obsession could lead one to believe the supers-star has been watching him back, all this while, as well.

The distant screen or poster or billboard can create an odd sort of familiarity in the brain of some blind follower. This level of collective love is what we call ‘star power’ anyway, often propelling fans to form groups, taking on their hero’s imagined critics and competitors online, and in the real world. Gaurav does the same. He is at the edge, from where he could simply tip over. Do you empathize with him though? Maybe—but only very slightly. Otherwise, this character, like this much-needed film, exists to open our eyes to this niche phenomenon called the ‘fan’— what to make of it; how, before you know it, things could stretch too far. A big challenge for the filmmakers was using the VFX and prosthetic (they employed the make-up artiste from Mrs Doubtfire and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button) to make Shah Rukh look like a 25-year-old, toothy version of himself. It’s a fine effort, yes. But it is hard to completely reverse ageing (easier to make people old), even with technology on screen. The actor Shah Rukh, who’s otherwise so different from the character Gaurav, makes up for much of the deficit though. After attempting a couple of likable rom coms like Band Baaja Baaraat and Shuddh Desi Romance, director Maneesh Sharma steps into an unexplored territory with this thriller. He knows the craft and that’s evident in a number of skillfully executed sequences. What’s bothersome is that the writer Habib Faisal (Ishaqzaade) resorts to the customary tropes and standard techniques after a point. However, despite the blemishes, the writer delivers enough nail-biting moments as the cat-and-mouse tension between Aryan and Gaurav moves to an exceptional finale. Faisal along with writer Sharat Katariya also garnish the dialogue wonderfully, soaking the lines in realism and punctuating them beautifully in the dramatic sequences. Shah Rukh Khan puts in what is his best performance in many years (not surprising, since all his films in the recent past didn’t have too much acting potential), scraping through layers of prosthetics and make-up to get to the heart of Gaurav and the legions of fans who frequent his own house day in and day out. As Gaurav, Khan is both child-like and menacing, almost a hark back to his “Baazigar” and “Darr” days. It is a beautifully studied portrayal, and Khan manages to get under the skin of the very same people he must be used to waving at from a distance. He is predictably effective as Aryan as too, but he is solid as Gaurav. Khan is menacing as the deranged admirer who loses his balance and goes to extreme lengths to teach his icon a lesson. Khan commands the screen in a movie that is effectively running on his shoulders despite the presence of minor characters. The superstar does get some valuable support from co-actors like Waluscha De Sousa, Sayani Gupta, Deepika Amin and Yogendra Tikoo whose presence is skillfully woven drama. On the whole, ‘Fan’ is a highly engaging thriller which sees the return to form of one of India’s biggest superstars. Fan is not just made for the real life fans of Mr. Khan but it also made for all of those who believe in the power of love and longing. Gaurav’s affection towards Khanna shows what love means and what a person is capable of doing if he does not receive that love in return. Even if you are not Mr. Khan‘s fan, then at least watch Fan for Gaurav’s dedication.