For an actor who has enthralled audiences with his romantic hero image, the premise of Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film Fan might seem a tad narcissistic. Fan starts with the story of an usual boy named Gaurav who is based in Delhi, who is a huge fan of superstar Aryan Khanna (both characters played by Shah Rukh Khan). The film picks up pace as Gaurav embarks on a journey from Delhi to Mumbai to to wish Aryan on his birthday. Incidentally, Gaurav bears a striking resemblance to Aryan. However, very soon things start to go a bit haywire and not as per plan, and Gaurav’s passion for his favourite actor turns into an obsession that borders on dangerous. [caption id=“attachment_2629902” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Fan’. Youtube screen grab.[/caption] Fan has been produced at a budget of Rs 85 crore by Yash Raj Films, and is Shah Rukh Khan’s first release of 2016. The film has been several years in the making and has been delayed twice due to the heavy VFX in the film (in making Shah Rukh Khan look like two different people) and because of SRK’s knee injuries that forced him to take breaks in the middle. In fact the idea of the film came to veteran filmmaker Yash Raj Films close to 8 years ago. Three-time Academy Award winning make-up artist Greg Cannom had been roped in to put together Gaurav and Aryan’s look in Fan. Cannom has films such as The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Van Helsing, and A Beautiful Mind to his credit. He also worked on Rishi Kapoor’s look in Kapoor & Sons. Fan also stars Waluscha D’Souza, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Sayani Gupta. Shah Rukh Khan has always been extremely invested in the marketing of his films, and Fan was no different. The promotions kick started many months ago when SRK unveiled a huge mural of Fan outside his bungalow Mannat. The Fan logo is made up of a collage of pictures of all SRK fans. The Fan anthem, composed by Vishal-Shekhar and written by Varun Grover, has been released in 8 different languages. The film has been shot in Mumbai, Croatia, London and Delhi. Yash Rak Films has been extremely secretive about the plot and before Shah Rukh Khan’s look was revealed to the public, it was kept completely under wraps. Infact nobody, including SRK himself, was allowed to use phones on the shoot. Shah Rukh Khan had to go through 3D scanning to play a younger boy, and his avatar as Gaurav has also been placed at London’s Madam Tussauds museum. According to this Business Standard report, Fan has been released in 3000 screens across India and 700 screens abroad. In order to make profits, Fan will have to rake in over 200 crore at the box office.
'Fan' review LIVE: Shah Rukh Khan as Gaurav may just win Best Actor award this year
Fan has been produced by Yash Raj Films, and is Shah Rukh Khan’s first release of 2016.
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That’s all for today guys! Happy #Fan day to you — and look out for our review from Anna Vetticad soon.
Here is Apoorv Mishra live at Chandan Cinema, Juhu with Fan’s reactions to Fan!
Concluding thoughts from Chandan:
Fan is about Gaurav’s obsession of Aryan and Shah Rukh Khan’s obsession of himself.
We will be getting audiences very shortly. Watch this space!
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Live from Chandan
Audiences not interested in lengthy chases between Aryan and Gaurav. Clearly Shah Rukh Khan trumps all.
#SRKvsSRK On #FANDay audiences have preferred Gaurav over Aryan with 59 % votes in our poll. #FirstDayFANShow Who did you prefer?
— Firstpost (@firstpost) April 15, 2016
Stay tuned to watch us live at Chandan cinemas, Juhu with real-life fan reactions to Fan.
I cannot even express how amazing @iamsrk is as Gaurav Chandna in #FAN . What a superbly nuanced & complex act. Kudos Maneesh Sharma !
— Mini Mathur (@minimathur) April 14, 2016
Aamir Khan is a star. Salman Khan is a superstar. @iamsrk is an EMOTION.#FirstDayFANShow
— Pratik (@fake_engineer7) April 15, 2016
Smitten by Shah Rukh Khan right now. #Fan
— Shubha Shetty (@shubhaS) April 15, 2016
Live from Chandan:
“Shah Rukh ka jo ghar dikhaya hai woh studio hoga. Ghar mein thodi na shooting karenge.”
Everyone is awed with the glimpses of a superstar’s personal life.
‘Thank you, Maneesh Sharma’
Live from Chandan:
Fangirls are taking selfies with Shah Rukh Khan in Fan poster.
Seems like people want more in the second half. “Jabra fan end mein hoga”
Three good things about #Fan, missing in recent SRK films:
— Aniruddha Guha (@AniGuha) April 15, 2016
1. Story.
2. Director.
3. Actor.
More on the film, in the review.
Live from Chandan:
Massive hooting for the Aryan/Gaurav face-off!
Film critics are tweeting their responses:
Fan: What it does might seem overdone, indulgent & narcissistic but the why - the meta statement - is gold. Go watch.
— Sudhish Kamath (@SudhishKamath) April 15, 2016
Nobody but Shah Rukh could have done this. #Fan #reviewsoon
— Raja Sen (@RajaSen) April 15, 2016
Maneesh Sharma, director of Fan, in an interview with India Today, has said that Shah Rukh Khan is a director’s dream:
“He has exactly the same behaviour,” says Sharma of SRK then and now. “There was not the slightest intimidation [in directing him]. And all credit goes to him. He is submissive to the director’s vision. There is no other way for him.”
Da film that raises the bar of cinematic accomplishments in India @FanTheFilm is so cool & @iamsrk takes it to the next level, Game changer!
— arjunk26 (@arjunk26) April 15, 2016
“Landmark in Indian cinema”
I have never been a SRK fan.. but after seeing #FAN have been converted.. SRK's best ever.. though serious.. its a landmark in Indian cinema
— Amod Mehra (@MehraAmod) April 15, 2016
My best wishes to big brother @iamsrk Although I'm his little brother.. I'm also his biggest #Fan ..Guys go and enjoy the Movie #Fan..
— King Mika Singh (@MikaSingh) April 15, 2016
As a #Fan, can't wait to see @iamsrk's #Fan!
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) April 15, 2016
Concluding thought from Yashraj studios screening of Fan
Although the past underwhelming performances like Dilwale and Happy New Year had tried toning my excitement for the movie, I was a jabra wala fan when I entered the theatre. While this is surely SRK’s back-in-the-game performance, the movie fails to impress at many points.
If you’re a Jabra SRK fan, this move is for you. It completely grabs your attention in the first half, but then takes a boring twist towards the second.
The press show was almost like a #FirstDayFANShow and damn! What a fabulous film. @iamsrk has KILLED it with a FANtastic double role 👏🏼
— Priya Adivarekar (@priyaadivarekar) April 15, 2016
Live from Chandan
Loud cheers on every stock footage of SRK from his earlier films!
Live from Chandan cinemas
Although it is considered as the best place if you want to spend time alone, today Chandan cinemas might just be the best place to watch Fan.
Wait! These guys are cheering aloud for Sultan trailer! Woot, woot!
Live from Chandan cinemas:
No matter how much the seats stink, it’s the craze of the first day first show that drives audiences. This is something peculiar about Chandan.
Live from Chandan cinemas:
The numbers for Fan are lesser compared to ‘Bhai ki movie’
Alright, while the Yash Raj Studios screening is on its last leg, Apoorv Mishra of Firstpost has now reached Chandan cinemas, in Juhu Mumbai, and here’s what he has to say!
“12 noon, the sun is hot yet the fans have showed up for Fan from sophisticated looking to not so sophisticated looking, from young to old — Everyone wants to take the cheap seats at Chandan as soon as they can”
Screaming crowds in Kolkata while watching Fan!
#FirstDayFANShow
— vishwajeet (@Vishu8298) April 15, 2016
Whole crowd were screaming in the south city ...kolkata pic.twitter.com/anZqpa9Ue0
Word, Ranveer, word.
— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) April 14, 2016
can forgive shah rukh for dilwale after today! #Fan was such an experience. ppl clapped in the end
— manishalakhe (@manishalakhe) April 15, 2016
Live from Yashraj Studios (here is a different response, for variety)
With just a scene or two that’d grab your attention in the second half, Fan becomes redundant. The game between Aryan Khanna (the actor) and Gauran (the psychotic fan) goes on for the longest time.
Here are some concluding thoughts from Inox:
Concluding soliloquy is vintage SRK. The way he sorts out the identity question among obsessive fans in Oscar material.
Hit or super hit won’t matter. What will matter is the memorable act. No song, no real heroine, just SRK exponential
Live from Yashraj studios:
Fan is fun and gripping in the first half. Right when you start loving the movie, it takes a turn from being realistic and genuine to being unnecessarily dramatic.
