Movie: Fan
Direction: Maneesh Sharma
Cast: Shah Rukh Khan
Music: Andrea Guerra
Cinematographer: Manu Anand
Editor: Namrata Rao
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Rating: ∗∗∗∗
What is it about: It’s an obsession of an avid fan Gaurav Chandna (Sharukh Khan) towards the actor Aryan Khanna (SRK). “Fan” will take you through the madness and what lengths Gaurav could go to make Aryan realize his love for him. This forms the crux of the story directed by Maneesh Sharma.
Why it’s disappointing: The film hardly has any defects, the only thing one can point out is the little drag in the first half. Apart from that the film makes sure you’re hooked on. And of course in the second half, the film goes little off in narration.
What to watch out for: It was a huge relief to see SRK in a film where he’s not making a fool of himself. In the recent past, he’s done quite a few which we could cross off the list. And a film where you see there’s not even one song. SRK with no songs, you might think will that work? It did and worked fabulously.
Director Maneesh Sharma, had a great technique in deriving both the central characters in the film Aryan as a larger than life film star and then Gaurav as an ardent fan hailing from a middle class family. Both had a great character infused in to them, which were played out perfectly.
Sharukh Khan in a double role, both were laid in their respective attire with great characterisation. As Aryan he did play the role to its finest. Every scene was perfectly tailored for that character, especially the one where he is about to perform at an NRI’s daughter’s wedding was a classic one, when you watch the film you will definitely know what I’m talking about. Then his arrogance as a successful film star was on dot. SRK must have picked up few instances from his personal life for this character.
SRK as Gaurav, this could be called as one of the landmark roles in his career. After a long gap he revived the bad boy in him and Gaurav is bad boy of a unique kind. This character was genius, it unravels slowly and when it’s in its true form, takes you by surprise. SRK as Gaurav, gets registered so well in audiences head due to his extensive versatility. He performed it just like a fan of this stature would have, when obsessed with his icon. There’s this scene where Gaurav sees Aryan for the first time, the look, the excitement, the sentiment and a performance which will move you. An absolute treat to watch SRK in a role which was missing for long-time. The body language, dialogue delivery, mannerism and finally a performance which I’m truly have become an admirer of.
The supporting cast of FAN were perfectly chosen, the film had the stereotypes laid out in proper order. Deepika Amin and Yogendra Tiku as Gaurav’s parents were great. Waluscha has a short stint but a good one. Shriya Pilgaonkar as Gaurav’s love interest was perfect. And finally Sayani Gupta as Aryan’s PA, was a good touch by the casting director Shanoo Sharma.
The film didn’t have a single song and the background score by Andrea Guerra, an Italian composer from the Hollywood films like Facing Windows (2003), Hotel Rwanda (2004), and The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). His score was spectacular. The cinematography by Manu Anand was splendid, amazing work. There are few challenging scenes in the film, which he had filmed with great dedication. Especially the action sequences.
The action sequences were well choreographed by Oh Sea Young, from the fame of “Avengers: Age of Ultron”. It was meticulously executed which looks fabulous on screen. The look of Gaurav was perfectly etched by Greg Cannom, and the character looked more convincing than ever.
Verdict: Maneesh Sharma did a great job in handling the Star and the Fan, he laid out the pros and cons from both the sides and perfectly balanced the emotions from each perspective. It does points out the obvious from a Star and the madness with unconditional love of a Fan. Even though the film dips a wee little in the second half, Maneesh keeps you invested in the film with powerful performances by SRK. If you’re not a FAN of SRK, you will become one after watching this film, his days of dark shades have returned.
