This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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After the abysmal Dilwale, it looks like Shah Rukh Khan is all set to resurrect the actor within himself. Director Maneesh Sharma's Fan which opens on April 15 will see Shah Rukh as never before, or shall we say, as seldom before.
So far the teasers of this eagerly awaited film have shown Shah Rukh and his doppelganger-fan in a teasing pleasing almost flirtatious relationship.
But the first full-length trailer released on the last day of February (leap year…Shah Rukh leaps into the year, get it?) reveals- yes , it is no less than an apocalyptic revelation-an actor, a superstar, at the pinnacle of his skills as he plays himself, the superstar with a different name (King Khan has assumed the playful alias of Aryan Khanna, Aryan being Shah Rukh's son's name, and Khanna as in Rajesh Khanna the greatest superstar India has ever known) and his fan the wimpy whiny Gaurav.
There is a brief but brilliant dialogue in the trailer between Aryan Khanna and his fan Gaurav (Shah Rukh with such subtle vfx and a voice-shift that's remarkable for creating an identity without intensifying the inflexions) where Gaurav asks his idol for just five minutes of his precious time.
Aryan refuses point blank.
"Can't you give five minutes to your biggest fan?" Gaurav pleads. "It's my time. I can do what I want with it," retorts Aryan firmly.
No, this is not a simple snub. I've seen how stars are besieged by fans, almost as if they, the fans, have a birthright and ownership over their idol. I was with Akshay Kumar once when he was attacked (there is no other word for it) by a persistent fan. It took all of Akshay's persuasive powers, then some more, to get rid of the fan.
Shah Rukh Khan in Fan creates two completely different personas on screen, the superstar and the fan. After the superstar ticks off the fan, the trailer becomes a dark thriller with the fan creating havoc in the superstar's life.
The inspiration is no doubt Shah Rukh's character in Yash Chopra's Darr. But Fan looks a lot more tense edgy and exciting. It is also a very relevant film in today's times when the relationship between stars and fans has become far more casual and informal because of the constant exposure that stars get on television.
Fan looks like Shah Rukh's career's best performance. It's hard to believe that Maneesh Sharma who directed the zany Band Baaja Baaraat and the over-sexed comedy Shuddh Desi Romance has created a cinema that provides Shah Rukh Khan a platform to be reborn as an actor.
Welcome back, Shah Rukh Khan.
Article written by staff at Bollywood Hungama. Read more
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