‘Fan’ Movie Review: Shah Rukh Khan as his fan is phenomenal

Directed by: Maneesh Sharma
Produced by: Aditya Chopra
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Sayani Gupta, Waluscha de Sousa, Shriya Pilgaonkar
Duration: 2 hours 22 minute
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 4/5

Shah Rukh Khan is undoubtedly the King of Romance, but with ‘Fan‘ the superstar breaks the mould and steps out of his comfort zone. The Maneesh Sharma directorial is a far cry from SRK’s trademark style, as he plays the anti-hero, an obsessive fan of a superstar. The basic idea of the film came to Maneesh when he met SRK for the first time, in the year 2004. Continuing with quite a fascinating journey, filmmaker Maneesh carried this ‘magnum opus’ subject with him for more than a decade. Given the anticipation of Shah Rukh Khan playing a dual role to make everyone dance in their full spirits on ‘Jabra Fan’ anthem, will this Maneesh Sharma directorial be able to impress you? The answer is YES!

The plot begins in Delhi where we witness Gaurav Chandna, a die hard fan of Bollywood superstar Aryan Khanna. He calls himself as the Junior Aryan Khanna and also names his cyber cafe with the initials ‘AK’. Being a consecutive winner in the local Superstar competition of Fans, Gaurav plans to meet and give his trophy to Aryan on his birthday. As he reaches Mumbai, he crosses the line and does something, for which Aryan orders his arrest and confronts him making him realise that he was wrong.

Shah Rukh Khan nails it with his performance as Gaurav Chandna, his transformation and vulnerability make the character of Gaurav endearing. Fans will identify with the twinkle in Gaurav’s eyes when he first sees Aryan Khanna. His voice has that raw excitement when he first speaks to his idol. But here lies a difference. Unlike other fans, Gaurav is far more street smart. As much as he loves Aryan, he is cynical and expects a bit too much from him. With turn of events, things go sour and his love for Aryan turns into hate. Gaurav now plots to stage crimes, following Aryan wherever he goes. And he does it in a way that the blame of everything he does will be pinned on Aryan.

Aryan Khanna will give you a peek into Shah Rukh Khan’s personal life like never before. There are shots done right outside his luxurious home in Mumbai. Shah Rukh Khan, as both superstar Aryan Khanna and his fan Gaurav, is phenomenal throughout the film. He is a commoner, an anti-hero, a lover, a superstar, all packed in one. Watching a powerful actor indulge in a twisted battle with his seemingly powerless admirer will give you the right amount of thrill, as promised. None of the actresses have been given enough screen time and scope to make an impact, though.

Habib Faisal’s screenplay is taut and engaging and the dialogues are effective, co-written by Sharat Katariya. The first half keeps you on the edge of your seats, but in the second half, the film loses grip which is taken care of and almost forgotten with a very touching climax.

The direction by Maneesh Sharma is fantastic and manages to bring out some very potent emotional breakdown scenes of Gaurav and some jaw-dropping chase sequences between Gaurav and Aryan.

Namrata Rao’s editing is the highlight, visuals by cinematographer Manu Anand are terrific. Also worth mentioning are Oh Sea Young, the action director, and make-up artist Greg Cannom for transforming Shah Rukh Khan into the vulnerable Gaurav Chandna. The background score done by Andrea Guerra creates the right amount of impact.

The film is devoid of characteristics of a typical Bollywood film, like songs, romance, female lead, yet it makes for a perfect recipe for a hatke movie. On the whole, it is a must watch!

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