The word has been derived from “Fanatic”, meaning filled with or expressing excessive zeal. That is
what Gaurav indicates when in the opening scene his voiceover announces “Connection
bhi na kamaal ki cheez hai, baas ho geya to ho geya”. From there on it is a
different relationship, an altogether different world, a superstar’s larger
than life yet fragile world and the Fan’s fantasy world. It is a rather absurd
world. For a star, the stardom is a reflection of his fan following, yet most
of them remain faceless non entity for him. For a fan, that mere feeling of
being part of the star’s world provides him the zest for life. They must co-exist
peacefully in their own world since it is a parallel world that will never converge.
Everything snaps and the world turns
upside down the moment the star makes the fan accept “ Tumhare mere beech main
kuch apna nehin hai”. From there on the chase begins. And the long chase is
metaphorical. This time the star is chasing the FAN. It has to be a long & arduous.
The chase every fan goes through just to get a glimpse of his star. The star
must also feel it.
FAN is a SRK blitzkrieg. The actor playing the protagonist
and antagonist, the star and the fan, gives a nuanced, career defining performance.
As superstar Aryan Khanna he beautifully depicts the restlessness and
eccentricity associated with stardom. He even doesn’t shy away from taking few pot
shots at his real life controversies. However it is as Gaurav Chandana, he is
well and truly back as the SRK of yesteryear. He is phenomenal as an obsessive
Fan. No doubt he has played such roles in Bazigaar and Darr , however this time
around the added maturity gives depth to his character and makes it much more believable.
However FAN is not just about the star and the fan, it is
also about the constant insecurity that a star goes through, the myth around
stardom and the fear of getting trapped into an image. Somewhere Aryan tries to explain Gaurav , he
too is a man with a family , with his mood swings , with his insecurities . Cinematically
FAN as a film has flaws, but then does it even matter. For the zillion SRK fans
out there, he is the man who effortlessly charmed beautiful girls with outstretched
hands, convinced the prospective father in laws by feeding pigeons, inspired the
young generation by reaching stardom on his own and countless women swoon just
over that dimpled smile.
Go be a FAN and enjoy the second coming of Mr. Khan. And as
one of my friend said on Facebook – those who will dissect this film will just remain
critic and possibly can’t be a FAN!
