FAN Movie Review

Shah Rukh Khan. The name means a lot of things to a lot of people. To some, he’s a movie star, to some he’s a businessman, to some he’s an idol and to some he’s an overrated actor who is nothing but a businessman. Needless to say, he evokes the most extreme reactions (why? Nobody knows). He’s back with Fan. A film about a crazy obsessed fan who goes through tumultuous times as is evident from the trailer. The trailers have promised a high voltage thriller which is very different from the type of movies Maneesh Sharma has made so far and it has been almost half a decade since SRK has appeared in an action thriller. Will Fan finally do justice to SRK’s acting talent? Will Fan be the first SRK movie in ages where the story and treatment hit home with the audiences? And lastly, what will the SRK Fans think of Fan? Let’s find out!

Story: Aryan Khanna (Shah Rukh Khan) is a big Bollywood Superstar who came to Mumbai from Delhi. Gaurav Chandna (Shah Rukh Khan) is his biggest fan from Inder Vihar in Delhi who calls himself Junior Aryan Khanna. He travels to Mumbai to meet Aryan Khanna on his birthday but amidst a sea of crazy fans outside his house, Gaurav’s hopes that his gifts for Aryan Khanna get trampled. To get Aryan’s attention he bashes up his big young rival Sid Kapoor. When Aryan gets wind of this, he informs the police who beat Gaurav up. Aryan goes to the police station to meet Gaurav but Gaurav feels Aryan is being ungrateful. Gaurav feels Aryan should be thanking him. But Aryan can’t thank someone who goes about beating people up! So to teach Gaurav a lesson, Aryan asks the police to keep him in the cell for 2 days. That will teach him a lesson, he thinks. But it aggravates Gaurav to such an extent that Gaurav now wants to teach Aryan a lesson. He says “ab Star fan ke peeche bhagega”. And so the game of cat and mouse between the superstar and his Fan begins.

Screenplay and Direction: Maneesh Sharma has written a script with so many twists and turns that it leaves the audience with hardly any time to think. Fan is fast-paced for the most part and the action scenes are very well choreographed. The first half flies by because the world created by Maneesh Sharma sucks you in, but the proceedings after the second half almost undoes all the great work of the first half. It is redeemed and how, by the stellar climax. The dialogues spoken by the characters remind you of the Delhi milieu. Credit to Maneesh Sharma for handling a film like this which was shot on such a huge canvas, and never letting go of the work at hand. Everything’s tied together by the end and the journey taken by Gaurav feels like a journey well watched. A solid effort by Maneesh Sharma.

Fan is a film which has been made on a huge scale but the aspect of realism is never lost. The costume design and production design are detailed and keep the realism angle attached to the movie. The editing of Fan is crisp but it would have probably helped to have cut down few scenes in the second half. The Delhi world feels a lot more earnest than the London/Dubrovnik/Mumbai world. The second half might feel like a letdown to a few because the first half is just that good. The background score of Fan is a letdown because the action scenes should have been accentuated by the background score. Unfortunately, the background score is mellow and doesn’t work too well in a true Bollywood sense.

Acting: Fan is Shah Rukh Khan. After what feels like ages, SRK has sunk himself into a character with all his might. And the best part is that not only with Gaurav but also as Aryan, Shah Rukh gives it his best shot since My Name Is Khan. Gaurav Chandna could have become a caricature but SRK makes sure to keep his innocence alive. Gaurav could have become a Darr type of a villainous character but it thankfully doesn’t toe that line. Gaurav, all due to Shah Rukh’s masterclass in acting, comes across as someone who is just a child within. He never overplays the part with his mannerisms and voice. SRK as Aryan Khanna is charming and gleefully takes potshots at his real life avatar. Shah Rukh’s biggest achievement in Fan is keeping both the characters apart and yet never playing them like polar opposites. Yogendra Tiku and Deepika Amin as Gaurav’s parents are perfectly cast. They do their roles perfect justice. Sayani Gupta gets the most screen time amongst the female actresses and she is a revelation as his manager. Waluscha and Shriya Pilgaonkar are very adept at their respective roles.

Conclusion: Fan is the most bizarre, dramatic and thoroughly watchable movie-watching experience in Bollywood in God knows, how long. The first half is stellar and the brilliance of the first half is undermined by the unrealistic second half. If the post-interval part of the film had maintained the pace set by the first half, Fan could have turned out to be one of Shah Rukh Khan’s best films. But inspite of the missed opportunity, Fan is a solid movie which deserves to be watched by people of all ages for it gives everyone an anecdote to take home: Don’t get too close to your idol, because they can never meet your lofty expectations. It also has one of the best Shah Rukh Khan performances of all time as Gaurav Chandna. SRK, that’s all. As tweeted by Ranveer Singh.

Best Scenes:

• When Gaurav’s parents help Gaurav win the Super Sitara award
• The scene where Gaurav tries to run away from the police before they catch him
• Gaurav’s first meeting with Aryan Khanna and subsequently his expectations getting dashed
• The chase sequence in Dubrovnik is highly stylish
• The brilliantly executed Madamme Tussaud’s plan by Gaurav to malign Aryan Khanna
• The scene at Aryan’s house where Gaurav destroys Aryan’s awards
• The sequence where Aryan reaches Delhi covertly to catch Gaurav
• The climax scene is marvellous

Pros:

• Shah Rukh Khan’s best and most uninhibited performance in ages as Gaurav Chandna
• The action scenes are brilliantly choreographed
• The dialogues and milieu are very Delhi and very realistic
• The editing is crisp
• The first half is stellar
• Yogendra Tiku and Deepika Amin as Gaurav’s parents and Shah Rukh as Aryan
• Technically brilliant, the VFX is top notch. Credit to the entire team behind the film.

Cons:

• The second half almost feels like a letdown because it works on an unrealistic terrain
• The life of Gaurav before he reached Delhi should have been shown a bit more
• The background score is too mellow and doesn’t emotionally stir at our heart strings

Rating: