Fan movie review: SRK's dazzling homage to SRK

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Sayani Gupta, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Waluscha De Sousa, Deepika Amin, Yogendra Tikku
Director: Maneesh Sharma

Watching Fan is like watching two films. The first one, the one narrating the story idea, arrives with such deliciously devilish potential and flair that it’s shocking Shah Rukh Khan the star and YRF the production company dared to attempt it. The second one, the one hurtling towards the climax after interval, is so dim-witted and formulaic that it’s shocking the star and the production company put their names on it. A dazzling display of bravura is followed by depressing timidity. Usually, this is par for the course in Bollywood.

Way too many films begin with a great story idea, even have a stunning first half, only to stoop to fatuous pandering post-interval, to appease the box-office god.
Except for one thing. Fan would have been easy to write off and dismiss with a half-hearted rating if it hadn’t been for Shah Rukh Khan. In this soaring-and-then-sinking film sits an unblinking, self-assured reply from Shah Rukh Khan to all those who’ve ever questioned, doubted or joked about his acting abilities. Khan, who essays two roles here — that of the fan and the star — plays both with bristling vanity and authority.

It is SRK’s most daring, most complex performance to date. There are moments of such brilliance, scenes so piercing and extraordinary that they’ll leave you speechless. And he’s shown this not with his trade-mark clenched-teeth, piercing-eyes, vein-throbbing exaggerated determination, but with the agility and lightness of an actor who is in the zone.

Gaurav Chandna, a resident of Inder Vihar in Delhi, lives with his parents, runs a cyber cafe and has a love interest. But that’s not his identity. His identity is pieced together like the walls-and-ceiling collage of photographs of Bollywood star Aryan Khanna. This is brought to us through crisp dialogue and intense camerawork that convey not just the desperations and joys of a fan, but also allow us a glimpse of the extent to which he’ll go to make sure you register his credentials.

Fan, especially the first half and the uneasy end, is the ultimate homage — by a writer-director to his star, by an actor to his craft, stardom and, inevitably, to fans. But it’s not celebratory. It’s a dark and twisted homage. Few actors embody and exhibit obsession, junoon the way Shah Rukh Khan does. And here he goes beyond Baazigar, Darr, Anjaam…

The way he owns Gaurav’s character, playing the ugliness and desperation not just with a full toothy grin, a twinkle in teary eyes, but also a measure of haughty dignity, in gambling terms it’s called going for broke. And SRK doesn’t just win the hand. He beats the house.