Tagline: A one-time watch Engaging Thriller
Plot:Gaurav (Sharukh Khan) is a diehard fan of film Superstar Aryan Khanna (Sharukh Khan) from West Delhi. Out of an obsession to meet Aryan on his birthday and display his love, Gaurav sets off to Mumbai but eventually fails to meet Aryan. Disappointed Gaurav learns about yet another film star Sid Kapoor legally proceeding against Aryan Khanna. Decided to teach Sid a lesson, Gaurav assaults him and coerces him to make an apology video. Aryan eventually comes to learn about Gaurav’s act and keeps him behind the bars to teach him a lesson. Aryan later justifies his act to Gaurav and instructs him to get a life back at home. Devastated Gaurav turns into a maniac and interferes into Aryan’s life to extract an apology from him. How did Gaurav’s psychotic deeds affect Aryan and how did the Superstar deal with his super disturbed fan forms the rest of the plot.
Performances:
Sharukh Khan: He is a winner in both the shades but the role of Gaurav stays with you for long. Besides his exemplary performance, he deserves a commendation for backing up the idea of Fan vs Star.
The rest of the cast including Deepika Amin, Yogendra Tikoo, Waluscha de Sousa, Sayani Gupta and Shriya Pilgaonka don’t have much to do in this thriller except to play their bit and leave.
Analysis:
Superstar Sharukh Khan adorns a huge fan base across the globe. But what if admiration turns into obsession? What is the pinnacle of obsession and how can it lead into a Fan vs Superstar contest? This is exactly what Fan movie tries to experiment with. This is a film about SRK and both the characters being played by SRK makes it interesting even more.
The director deals with this intriguing idea and knits an engaging drama around it. Forgetting Sharukh’s image and all the commercial prerequisites, Maneesh gives a very genuine shot at it. Moreover playing both the star and an obsessed fan, SRK was flawless making it look so easy and elegant. Of course, SRK eventually woos you as the fan (Gaurav) rather than the Superstar. Much against to the commercial formula, the director tried to engage the audience with this Fan vs Star contest and in a way succeeded at making a decent attempt.
It is SRK in every frame and besides him few episodes here and there shall keep you glued. The contest turns interesting when the fan pokes the star but the game later on gets predicable. Even towards the end, it is a star-fan thing that can neither excite nor move you but in turn aims at enlightening some diehard maniac fans. The director could brilliantly portray the version of the fan & star but in the due course couldn’t keep it fascinating enough.
Well for fans who expected a commercial entertainer found a thriller which eventually ended up being a one-time watch – all thanks to SRK.
Merits:
- Storyline and focused narration
- SRK’s performance
- Backgroundscore
- Cinematography
De-merits:
- Overall execution
- Lack of a wow-factor
This thriller isn’t plagued by songs (of Vishal-Shekar) but indeed the background score by Andrea Guerra deserves a special mention.
Others:
The production design, action choreography and cinematography (by Manu Anand) were exceptional.
Verdict:
Fan is a one-time watch engaging thriller that you can watch for SRK alone - a welcoming change from SRK that deserves a chance especially after a bomb like Dilwale.
