Fan

Fan might be one of my favourite movies ever. Is it perfect? No. Does it deserve a 10/10 Rating? Also No. Do I Love it? Absolutely. Fan’s excellence lies in it’s subtlety. It’s the smallest of things that make it so special. This film is not only special to me because it’s a movie about a head over heels fan (like me) of Aryan Khanna (which is basically an overplay of SRK IRL). It’s Cinematography is just incredible. The usage of Blue and Orange Highlights across the movie was brilliant. With blue signifying subtle emotions, while orange signifying extreme emotions. The Red Fire Cracker going off in the final battle of the film acting as a countdown to Gaurav’s eventual fate was peak. I think the Fan vs Star concept didn’t connect with audiences, and many might call this a waste of a concept, but I find myself quite loving this dynamic. Both Gaurav and Aryan are portrayed as Street-Smart Delhi boys, but with one who is willing to cross certain lines, and the other who isn’t. But I understand the criticisms with this. As great as the Dubrovnik Sequence at the Party was, the subsequent action chase sequence, as well choreographed as it was, given SRK is playing both the characters, ends up feeling too over the top, and at moments across the second half of the movie end up feeling like SRK being afraid to go too small with this film because of his incredible stardom. Gaurav just so effortlessly fits in to the viewers mind, not as SRK, but a completely unique personality. While many might find his look jarring or uncanny, it’s pulled off super well and super consistently that you just don’t notice it as the film progresses. The Prosthetics paired with the incredible VFX was something never seen before nor after in Indian Cinema. Aryan Khanna, as I said before is basically SRK playing a more over the top version of himself. But out of the two, I might genuinely prefer SRK’s performance as Aryan over Gaurav. It’s the toned down manner SRK plays Aryan Khanna’s angry sarcasm and pure rage. You can feel the rage he has against Gaurav, but never needs an angry lash out to justify it to the audience. SRK absolutely kills it in both the roles. There’s a scene where Aryan is told to peacefully handle the situation and that Gaurav is just crazy, and he responds saying “then what am I?” Gave me genuine chills, and right at that moment, the airplane gears up as you hear the turbines as the camera faces SRK, it serves as such an effective tool to show his increasing anger. The way Gaurav being the huge fan he is, has all of Aryan’s line’s perfectly memorised, while Aryan himself needs Cue Cards to read the same lines is such a beautiful subtle detail. I absolutely love the way they captured Gaurav’s moment of seeing Aryan Khanna for the first time ever in person. How the joy filled him up, which then turned into disappointment alongside a moment of realisation for him that there are millions just like him who hope to meet Aryan and have at least 5 minutes of his time. As over the top as some moments might feel in the film, it absolutely nails how it feels like to be a fan. A film like this can’t be made in any other country apart from India since the stars here are the only stars in the world that receive such levels of love from the audiences, especially SRK. “Tu nahi samjhega…” is such simple yet effective writing. It’s quite literally what I go around saying to my friends and family when I’m asked “Why SRK” in a world where Indian Cinema is considered irrelevant and/or out of date and the minimal amount of International + South Indian Content Indian audiences consume is considered the Golden Standard while every flaw of the Hindi Film Industry is put to the limelight.