Movie Review

Rating :

Verdict : it’s a must watch for all Shah Rukh Khan’s fans _________________________________________________________________________

Just when you thought Shah Rukh Khan is losing his edge, he makes a comeback, And how? Going back to his early acting days, where twisted characters gave him his big break, This time Director Maneesh Sharma gives Shah Rukh Khan a chance to be self indulgent in a film which celebrates his Darr, Baazigar, Anjaam days, Film going to hit the screens today. Will the film re-establish Shah Rukh Khan as an actor to reckon with? Here's the review of Fan.

Story:-

"Fan" deals with an unusual story of a 25-year-old boy named Gaurav (Shah Rukh Khan), who is a huge fan of film star Aryan Khanna (Shah Rukh Khan).  Gaurav loves to idolize his superstar and keeps enacting Aryan Khanna’s dialogues, dance steps, and performances. After winning a local competition, Gaurav decides to personally dedicate his trophy to his superstar. He sets out for Mumbai to celebrate Aryan Khanna’s birthday but fails to meet his idol. In the heat of his fanism, Gaurav does something wrong, just to grab the attention of his superstar. Aryan Khanna comes to know about Gaurav’s deed and fails to acknowledge him. This breaks the heart of Gaurav the die-hard fan, due to which he decides to teach Aryan Khanna a lesson. What happens next is what the entire film is all about.

Positive Points :-

One of the biggest asset of Fan is undoubtedly Shah Rukh Khan himself. Words can’t describe the way SRK steps out of his comfort zone to act in this dark and gritty thriller. Although he excels as Aryan Khanna, he takes acting to a whole new level with his performance as Gaurav.

This is just one more film for SRK to prove that he is truly the King of Bollywood in terms of acting. He makes acting look absolutely easy. The transformation of SRK as Gaurav with the aid of special effects is also realistic

The story receives a worthy mention as it is something unique that the Indian cinema has rarely seen before. The concept of a fan turning an enemy is engaging and many hardcore fans will be able to relate to it easily. The intermission and anti-climax episodes will cause goosebumps for sure.

The producers should be applauded for leaving behind all commercial aspects such as songs and a love story by purely focusing on the star and the story. Background score, especially during the second half is thrilling. The supporting cast have done an okay job.

Negative Points :-

One of the negative points of Fan is that even though the story is interesting, the screenplay falters completely. Everything else that holds the film together, with the exception of SRK, fails to do so. The promotions are also misleading, as Fan is a very dark film.

The second half, although thrilling for a while, seems surreal. Many cinematic liberties were taken and logic goes for a toss in a few places. The obsession shown is a little extreme and the idea of a normal, common man chasing a superstar around the world and sabotaging his career has not been shown convincingly.

The chase scenes, although choreographed well, are a tad too long and a little over-the-top as well. The climax is exhausting and the film ends on a dull note.

Technical Aspects :-

Fan has impressive production values. The locations and the overall quality of the movie is superb. Dialogues are sub-par, although a few are worthy of a mention. Screenplay is lacklustre and could have been better. As already mentioned, background score by Andrea is fantastic.

Coming to the director Maneesh Sharma, after a streak of rom-coms, he should be appreciated for choosing a dark and unconventional film that surrounds a real-life superstar. He has succeeded to an extent, although his choice of screenplay and the way he handled a few key scenes could have been much better. If he had taken care of these problems, the film could have been even better.

Last Word :-

So on an overall basis, ‘Fan’ has a great concept with a fantastic performance by Shah Rukh Khan as Gaurav. Every fan of Shah Rukh Khan will say for sure that move aside Raj & Rahul, as now its Gaurav’s turn to rule their heart. I would have given full stars for the first half of the film. Sadly, the movie fails to match up with this brilliant acting and ends up among all those films where there is nothing left after the revelation of its unique story line. The movie had full potential to be among Shah Rukh Khan’s best films as an actor. Still, despite its flaws and failing to match up to the expectations level, it’s a must watch for all Shah Rukh Khan’s fans.