Apr 19, 2016 10:28 PM
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Mumbai is fondly called the City of Dreams or Mayanagari, one of the main reasons being it houses the Hindi Film Industry.
Most of us are fascinated, sometimes even heavily inspired by films, right from childhood. The larger than life characters, their style & body language, the dialogue delivery, is something we relate to, emulate and want to be like.
In the process, we fall for the actors playing these roles, and choose our individual favourites. This is how stardom is born! In fact, sometimes, we even tend to cross the line between the real & reel lives, and start living in a virtual world. Maneesh Sharma’s ‘Fan’ is about one of these kinds of people amongst us.
The film begins in Inder Vihar Delhi with Gaurav Chandana(Shah Rukh Khan), a 25 year old college dropout who is in awe of superstar Aryan Khanna. To add fuel to the fire, Gaurav’s face resembles Aryan a bit, and he loves copying his mannerisms, mouthing dialogues from his films, much to the delight of the people around him. Gaurav’s parents find it a bit annoying and weird yet encourage him in his pursuits. One fine day, Gaurav’s fanaticism crosses the threshold, and decides to visit Mumbai, and meet his ‘senior’ Aryan Khanna personally.
He manages to reach the dream city, only to realise that there are millions like him waiting to get a glimpse of the Superstar. To stand out from the crowd, he would perhaps have to do something special, to grab his idol’s attention, and fulfil his dream. Does Gaurav manage reaching out to Aryan, or there is something else in store for him, is how the plot unfolds here on.
Right from the beginning, Maneesh Sharma doesn’t waste time in elaborating stuff. He keeps it simple, by maintaining the focus on Gaurav and his craziness. Up to the interval, the film runs at a very steady pace, with the right blend of humour, emotions and drama. Post the break, the narrative gathers further momentum. But, to be honest, it almost turns into YRF’s Dhoom franchise. Although the twists & turns are interesting, unpredictable, and brilliantly shot, some of the on-goings is just hard to believe. Towards the climax, the pace is back on track, but the message is kind of left to the audience’s discretion, in a slightly awkward manner.
The essence of film says that success, fame, money & stardom all come with a price. Understanding the value of these aspects besides maintaining one’s dignity & humility is what maketh a Human. It is good to idolize, emulate or get inspired by achievers. But, non-channelized adulation turns into obsession, and brings in the element of ego thereby destroying one’s positive thought process.
The cinematography by Manu Anand is brilliant. VFX by Red Chillies is of international level, esp. the transformation of a 50 year old Shah Rukh to a boy half his age. Editing by Namrata Rao is good, but the length could have been reduced a bit further. Background music by Andrea Guerra is apt, gels with the theme. Dialogues written by Habib Faisal are excellent, esp. conversations between two Khans.
The song Jabra fan deserved to be a part of the narrative, at least during the credits. It would have helped in aptly showcasing the spirit & madness of Gaurav.
Performance wise, its Shah Rukh Khan all the way. There is no YRF’s Raj / Rahul romancing with open arms in the mustard fields of Punjab, reaching out hand to the leading lady from a moving train.
What you will see in Fan is a pleasant, natural & laudable portrayal by SRK without the usual packaging, coming out of his comfort zone. Both the roles viz. an egoistic superstar and his innocent doppelganger fan are played with utmost conviction and ease. At times, you start wondering if they are actually two different people. Kudos to Maneesh for having conceived the unique idea & characterizations, with SRK in mind. However, the screenplay is somewhat unable to align with his hard-work & efforts.
All other actors viz. Deepika Amin, Yogendra Tiku, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Waluscha de Sousa and Sayani Gupta provide adequate support.
Overall a good experimental film, which works in parts, falling a bit short of could have been an enthralling fare. Nevertheless, worth a watch for Khan’s performance, and the message it conveys.
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