Fan

This film was supposed to be the masterful triumph to prove him once again after some buffoonish kind of film in recent times.. And what a bounceback by Shahrukh Khan... Fan not only restored my faith in The SRK's acting prowess, but also made me think that his superstardom is nowhere to go despite some doldrums... This film was never meant to be a perfect Masala potboiler.So earning money in the Box Office is never a concern...coz a lot of crap films like Prem Ratan Dhan Payo,Happy New Year etc are not only earning money but also considered a blockbuster in Bollywood.. What a shame..It seems we Indian's haven't evolved since the inception of Mumbai cinema.. I must reckon the fact that most of the coveted 100 crore films are nothing but a piece of trash.. Of course without few exceptions...

Now let's talk about the possibility of winning hearts by Shahrukh via his latest gem 'FAN'...He is just not a superstar, he is truly a national icon..So he doesn't need to prove his acting prowess at this point.. Still FAN is going to return his 'a bit diminished glory' into a spectacular manner for sure... I don't think that I need to review this piece of magnificent delight.. Go watch in the nearby theatres... Note: (Fan and 'Non-Fan'of SRK will be agreed by my point aforesaid until they watch this summer thriller.)

As it has already been said by the critics a millions of times that SRK is back in form with his latest double role extravaganza, Fan is truly a grandiloquent comeback of the King of Bollywood after nearly half a dozen misses where he hardly reached the niche he had earlier crafted for himself.It is like a subversion from his previous self ,so much wooed by the lure of the business mathematics like Rs.200-300 Crores what some of the buffoonish movies of Bollywood earlier had made.But it seems the King soulfully listened to the prayers of the millions of his true 'Jabra'(Insane) fans.More importantly, he did actually pay heed to his inner self ,as Aryan Khanna would often advise to Gourav Chandna in the movie itself.And the outcome of this realization is a subtle, metaphorical and at times philosophical movie like 'Fan'.

It is highly unlikely that it will mint money like a Dabaang , a Happy New Year , a Chennai Express or even the pathetic Dhoom 3.But be rest assured that this reborn SRK has unleashed an unfathomable yet ingenious desire to strike the right chords in the right audience's heart.The extremities of the adulation of a fan for a megastar construct the periphery of this movie.Literally the periphery, as Mr.Khan in the dual role of Aryan Khanna and the love me-hate me- what to do to me Gourav Chandna holds the center-stage of this adrenaline rising sleek flick.A few scenes of the movie deserve to be remembered ever for the sheer brilliance of the actor who finally transcended the limits of being tipped,mocked and very often thrashed by the intellectuals as just a money monger with his obvious aspirations in his previous outings.The scene at the Delight hotel, Room No 205, the one where Aryan Khanna actually copies Gourav for his redemption or the climax scene where Aryan's eyes search for Gourav and Gourav's mirage makes him somber and self introspective- all offer you in bounty to adore and take a bow for Mr.khan's acting brilliance even if you are not his fan.The chase scenes are all Hollywoodesque barring the first one where you can easily find the VFX lacunae. The supporting actors are perfect in their minuscule roles.But once you are into the movie, you will gradually realize that the fallen king of Bollywood had chosen this as his vehicle to make his rejected and dejected fans believe what an arsenal of talent he still is.This movie like what I said for Swades or Chak De India as well upon their respective releases, would be a hallmark for the illustrious career of SRK and even if it fails to be a humongous hit, it will ever be remembered as a a benchmark of what skilled perfection of acting can do to otherwise an average movie.In the history of Hindi movie, it will be always remembered with the same respect what films like 'Taxi Driver','Vertigo' or 'Scarface' earned in Hollywood.Arguably the best movie of King Khan's career as an actor, this layered movie interwoven with myriads of subtleties is going to stay in your heart even when he broke the norms of being a mandolin playing or arms stretched hero in an exotic location to stay in the rat race of actors.By the way, did I forget to tell that this 144 minutes movie does not have a song and the lovable 'jabra' tune was only for promotion? Go watch it and do yourself a favor.

P.S: If I take a break from being a critic and tell what my heart not my brain asks me to do, I would always say that I loved the second half more... If there is one movie made in Bollywood you aspire to watch before you die just for sheer acting brilliance Hamin Asto, Hamin Asto,Hamin Asto...

There is no doubt that 'Fan' as a movie is flawed, but the most surprising and assuring fact is that in this film, Shah Rukh isn't. We all have been a little concerned in these recent years. With no brainers like Dilwale, Chennai Express and that abomination of a film with Farah Khan, SRK was more concerned with his status as a superstar, rather than focusing on his acting attributes which is actually what his fans care about. 'Fan' is Shah Rukh's gift to all those lost people, reminding them that he hasn't forgotten his roots. He still can pull off the charm of a teenage, brawling guy from Delhi as well as he can portray the famous superstar, burdened with all the curses that come with it. Gaurav Chanda is the character you fall in love with, the guy who might not share the same passion for his idol as you do, but remind you of the universal wish, "We all want our '5 minutes' with our star." Shah Rukh pulls off one of the toughest characters in his careers with utmost ease and acting brilliance. Gaurav is a character people will talk about as long as Shah Rukh, indirectly what Gaurav wanted.

Aryan Khanna on the other hand is the character I enjoyed more. Shah Rukh pokes fun at his own personal tussles in the Bollywood industry. He displays his transparent yet controversial life for the whole world to see, and judge him, as people have done for the past 25 years. Avoiding the debacle made by Priyadarshan in Billu Barber's Sahir Khan, Maneesh Sharma's Aryan Khanna is closer to life, closer to our hearts and SRK does him a singular justice. Maneesh Sharma as a director did an okayish job; while the VFX and make up were beyond extraordinary, the second half of the film was drawn into 'post interval hell' due to unnecessary action chases and showdowns between Aryan and his fan. It gets pretty annoying at times, because by this time you already know that the film could have been a lot more. The cinematography seems repetitive at times, too many close up and reflection shots. But the focus is always where it needs to be; Shah Rukh Khan.

The irony is, 'Fan' is in fact the answer to all the prayers of Shah Rukh's Fans. To once again dazzle and mesmerize us with his surreal screen presence. We, the fans of SRK, wait for a year long to see him on screen, and we deserve something like 'Fan', he deserves something like 'Fan'. The world deserves something like 'Fan'.

Fan is a movie reminiscence of the Shah Rukh Khan the actor we lost to SRK the superstar. Fan is an ode to the initial acting talent of SRK we saw in Baazigar, Darr and Anjaam. Fan begins with introducing us to the beloved Gaurav Chandana, the West Delhi residence who is in love with Aryan (SRK Playing himself) since childhood. With the twist in tale that Gaurav looks similar to Aryan, For Gaurav Aryan is everything. He takes a special journey to meet with his beloved superstar only to find that he is not the only one in the list. Things get interesting when Gaurav feels betrayed and determined to teach a lesson to his God. The movie introduces some interesting aspects in terms of what it means to be a superstar and what it means to be a Fan. Gaurav is kind of an Anti-hero who is made to be loved, scared, loathed and disgusted by the director in various parts of the movie. Credit goes to SRK for his portrayal of Gaurav. He gets the mannerisms, body language, dialogues right. The initial scenes of Gaurav feels kind of over played but by the end of the movie, SRK gets Gaurav right. In fact in one of the subtle scenes in the movie, SRK acts a bit like Gaurav while speaking to a Police inspector. If it was intentional than well done SRK. Kudos goes to the director for keeping the movie songs free. He deserves 0.5 star extra for that. The movie is a thriller but seems kind of stretched over a period 140 minutes. The ending is melodramatic which puts me off but the director desperately tries to make us love Gaurav even though he is kind of annoying. Overall the effort is decent and SRK deserves some credit for Gaurav. He is certainly in contention for the 2016 filmfare but to be honest who cares. Please Watch Fan for if you want to remember when SRK used to act and not just play himself every time. It deserves 7.5 star from my side. If only the movie was edited a lot better and SRK showed some restrain with Gaurav it could have been his memorable performance. Alas it is not a Chak De or Pardes but it is SRK telling everyone he is still the king of acting.

Fan review :

There's something called as the "Curse of the second half"- a phenomenon where a film is simply outstanding in the first half raising your expectations to a pinnacle only to dash them to abysmal lows after the interval. It's more prevalent in bollywood than hollywood as those guys avoid intermission point even for their lengthy movies. Fan - SRK's latest wannabe blockbuster suffers badly from the second half curse syndrome.

The film starts like a home video of SRK's past achievements - montage of his films, awards, interviews etc. SRK is called Aryan Khanna - an aging superstar on a career downslide who still has enough crazy fans to cause a minor stampede outside his home (exteriors of Mannat). So basically, Aryan Khanna is SRK. His doppelganger fan is dilliwala Gaurav Chandna (SRK again with prosthetics) who considers him God and mimics him to win the "Kaloney wala competition" every year.

Encouraged by his parents (Deepika Amin- Yogendra Tiku, both adorable), Gaurav travels ticketless to Mumbai to meet Aryan, stays in the same motel as the superstar had during his struggling days and seeks only 5 minutes from him. He does get the opportunity but this meeting with Aryan leaves Gaurav totally disillusioned and angry. It's a very interesting scene which turns the graph of the film completely and director Maneesh Sharma nails it till here. It's interval time.

Next, Gaurav travels to London, creates a ruckus at Madame Tussauds and gets Aryan (who's shooting in the city) behind bars for his act. More, Gaurav infiltrates a wedding ceremony where Aryan is performing and gets him humiliated in front of all and sundry. Truly, it's by this point that the proceedings start looking fake and unreal. While in India, no one mistakes Gaurav to be Aryan but the moment he lands abroad, everyone assumes he's the superstar. Howzzat!! Also, Gaurav seems to know the entire work schedule of Aryan right to the minutest of details. Highly unlikely to happen!!

It's these glaring cinematic liberties which rob the second hour of its grit and realism. Admittedly, the two chase sequences are well choreographed and Aryan's advice to Gaurav in the violent climax highlights the pertinent point that a superstar should only serve as an inspiration for individual hard work and not as a blind obsession. Stars are also ordinary humans like us. In fact, Aryan Khanna is considerably humanised throughout by making him bear with a rude firangi cop or getting reprimanded by a rich businessman for arriving late at a performance.

Performance wise, the film belongs to SRK and he makes both Gaurav as well as Aryan memorable. In a welcome departure from his repetitive acts witnesed in his recent outings, SRK has actually "acted" after quite some time. No spreading of arms to demonstrate love, no silly banter bordering on hamming - Fan definitely ranks amongst SRK's better performances in recent times though it's nowhere close to the benchmark he's set for himself in the past - "Baazigar" (1993), "Darr"(1993), "Swades" (2004) or "Chak De India" (2007).

Of the supporting cast, only Shriya Pilgaonkar leaves a mark in her small role. There are no songs in the film; even the popular "Jabraa Fan" number is missing. Editing by Namrata Rao could have been tighter in the second half. Ditto for Habib Faisal's sagging screenplay.

All said and endured, Fan is an average fare but SRK - the actor elevates it to a cut above the commonplace. His fans will be happy for sure; those who aren't will also not mind.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.