An Indian psychological thriller following the psychological breakdown of a young man who makes his cinematic idol his reason to live. Built in two parts, it presents the two sides of the obsession: first, the consummated love, then the deadly rejection.

“Connection, you know, is a funny thing! Don’t ask how it works. Our friendship has been established since many years ago. Our connection is stronger than wi-fi or bluetooth. (…) We are one, he is Arya and I, Arya junior. »

So get started Fan introduced by the young and enthusiastic voice actor, the voice of Gaurav Chandna, a twenty-something teenager whose entire life revolves around one passion: fifty-year-old film star Aryan Khanna. For Gaurav, Aryan isn’t just a star, it’s his world, it’s his life, and ultimately himself. He completely identified with his idol, he lost sight of himself. Aryan Khanna monopolizes his whole mind and all interests. Her room was filled with pictures of stars, it was as literally filled with them as Arya’s soul. This psychic connection that the young man feels with his idol is marked by the seal of the physical resemblance between the two characters, a resemblance so total that Gaurav looks a lot like the younger Aryan.

The two characters: Gaurav and Aryan are both played by Shah Rukh Khan. This Indian actor has an aura in his country that surpasses that of any other country. If we have to make comparisons, we can do it with international singing stars like Mickael Jackson or Elvis Presley. He is the Baadshah (King) of Bollywood, just like Elvis was the King of his time.

One cannot separate Shah Rukh Khan from the fictional story that is being told to us, it would not match any other actor. While the introductory voiceover tells us about the intimate relationship between a boy and his idol, archival footage of the actual Shah Rukh Khan parade is shown before our eyes with his special gimmick and signature dance moves. It is also an excerpt from an authentic interview inserted. This is also real footage of the crowd that stormed the actor’s house on his birthday where he appeared to greet his fans from his home. There is no doubt that Fan is also a film about the special relationship its audience has with Shah Rukh Khan and one that can easily become an obsession for many Indians.

Hence, the film starts in the enchanted universe of Gaurav, who lives in perfect osmosis with his idol. And now Gaurav makes a decision to meet Arya on the star’s birthday. He went to meet her, sure of himself, while these lines from Arya echoed inside him:

“What I do is not mine. If I became what I am today, if I am where I am today, it is thanks to my fans, without my fans, I am nothing”.

Gaurav has a purpose, he has a meaning to his existence: he is one of his fans and thus, he “created” Arya. But when he arrived at his residence, nothing happened as he had imagined. He was only one among hundreds of others, who were drowned in the nameless crowd. Though he may have felt alone and unique in front of his idol appearing and greeting the crowd, Aryan didn’t see it and his attempts to meet him in person were unsuccessful. Gaurav is not the type to give up easily, he has only one obsession in his mind: meeting her, telling Arya that she exists.

This meeting ended face to face which was fatal for the young man. Far from meeting her dreams, she is living a nightmare instead. Her world is collapsing. He denied the star the right to be himself and live without him, to have his own life. He, Gaurav has only one life: Arya and Arya have to bring him back, thanks to him he became a star because without his fans he would be nothing!

Back home, everything had changed and he would put just as much passion and obsession into destroying his idol and denying it as he would praise it. It would start with the pictures being torn off one by one from the walls of his room and would burn up in the flames, a symbol of the rage that was devouring him. The object of flattery has become an object of hatred that must be exterminated.

This sequence tilts the film in its second half. Until then Gaurav was obsessed with Arya, now he will do everything to make the connection go the other way and become Arya’s obsession: “fans chase stars, now stars will chase fans. Gaurav will put all his strength and energy to turn the relationship around and become the actor’s obsession. Playing on his physical resemblance to him, he pretends to be an actor and discredits him to the audience for his behavior. The film has a confrontation from which the two protagonists are unable to emerge unscathed.

This final fight was an opportunity for Baadshah to send a message to his fans:

Stop this game. I’m happy with my life, can’t you be happy with yours? (…) Stop being a fan. (…) I walk alone and not in someone’s shadow. I am human. I laughed, I cried, I lost my mind like you, I have a family, responsibilities. I don’t have time to meet all my fans. (…) Start fresh but unlike Aryan Khanna junior, discover what it means to be Gaurav Chandna. The joy of living alone cannot match life through other people. (…) Live your life and let me live mine.

We can criticize this Indian thriller for its lack of finesse, explicit heft and certain preposterous situations. But the film is far from devoid of interest. He explores all phases of obsession from idol worship to hatred. The sentences and dialogues are explicit but rich in meaning. Shah Rukh Khan’s looks are great for both curbing a proud star and obsessive young fans. This Bollywood doesn’t include the choreography which is Shah Rukh Khan’s big asset, so it’s all based on his acting. Nothing can brighten the atmosphere of this story that is getting darker.

Fan is a psychological thriller in which we follow the psychic breakdown of a fan who is ready to do anything for his idol, ready to take his own life or kill. It describes the obsessive relationship a fan has with a star. A subject that is discussed in many films. As an example, we can cite dark films: It’s cold at night or a lighter approach with a Scorsese film Waltz of dolls. We will enjoy it Fan to find India’s approach to this problem.

Snippet: Fans

Data sheet: Fan

Original Title: The Fan
Director: Maneesh Sharma
Screenplay: Habib Faisal
Producer: Aditya Chopra
Production company: Yash Raj Films
Distribution: Yash Raj Films
Duration: 162 minutes.
Genre: Thrilling story
Release date: 15 April 2016 (India)