“I’m an worker of the parable of Shah Rukh Khan”
Shah Rukh Khan has a exceptional capacity to distance himself from his personal stardom, viewing it nearly from a third-person perspective. This vital eye isn’t restricted to himself; he additionally sees himself by way of the eyes of every fan who gathers exterior Mannat, determined to fulfill his gaze—even when just for a fleeting second. He is aware of that if his life had taken a distinct flip, he may be one in all them—an peculiar man from Delhi with goals, expertise, and a beating coronary heart filled with ambition, but unnoticed within the crowd. Maybe it’s this distinctive mixture of self-awareness and quiet confidence—fuelled by brutal honesty with himself—that made SRK keen to simply accept Fan when director Maneesh Sharma approached him with the concept.
Fan was a movie Shah Rukh Khan “beloved,” however his followers? Not a lot. In it, he’s each Aryan Khanna, a famous person, and Gaurav Chandna, an obsessive fan from Delhi who idolizes Aryan to a harmful diploma. Indulged by his dad and mom and blind to his personal psychological points, Gaurav’s devotion leads him to Mumbai, the place he’s misplaced in a sea of followers identical to him. His goals of forging a private reference to Aryan are shattered because the star stays unaware of the existence of his “pakka vala fan.” In desperation, Gaurav pulls a dangerous stunt to catch Aryan’s eye, solely to be taught the onerous fact: assembly your hero isn’t all the time what you count on. Aryan dismisses the obsession Gaurav considers sacred. Betrayed and humiliated, Gaurav’s love turns to vengeance, and he units out to dismantle the very stardom he as soon as worshipped.
Fan arrived at a time when Shah Rukh Khan’s stardom was below scrutiny, following the lukewarm box-office performances of Dilwale and Comfortable New 12 months. In a means, Maneesh Sharma’s movie grew to become a form of confessional for the actor, permitting him to subtly share snippets of his actual life within the garb of a screenplay. As an example, Shah Rukh’s character is called Aryan—a nod to his eldest son. The movie additionally touches on the famous person’s insecurities about staying related and a self-assuredness that usually verges on conceitedness. One scene even depicts Aryan slapping one other actor at a celebration, subtly mirroring controversies from Shah Rukh’s personal life. Although delicate, the movie cleverly intertwines parts of the actor’s actuality into its narrative that simply can’t be missed.
Critics provided many causes for Fan’s lukewarm reception, with the movie’s uneven second half typically cited as the principle one. However on revisiting the movie, I realised that the trigger is deeper, touching the psyche of SRK’s followers who see him as a part of their fantasy. He’s their dream—a imaginative and prescient fulfilled by even a fleeting glimpse. When that very same dream-like persona confronts them with the cruel actuality of stardom, exhibits them the person behind the star and unravels the conceitedness that may accompany such devotion, the rose-tinted glass simply shatters.
Shah Rukh Khan knew that Fan won’t resonate with the heartland viewers, however he took an opportunity as a result of he believed within the movie. “It’s (Fan) not a movie that heartland viewers will prefer it. However we took an opportunity considering hopefully they (viewers) will prefer it, however they wanted tune and dance. I’m not unrealistic,” he admitted in a PTI interview after the movie’s box-office disappointment.
Like several artiste, SRK craves validation from his viewers, and when Fan didn’t ship that, he returned to the acquainted consolation the place many damaged hearts discover solace – house. “Sure, shedding can turn out to be very private. I cope with it by genuinely closing up and changing into very quiet, and spending lots of time with myself and my youngsters,” he mentioned in an interplay with Hindustan Occasions.
In Fan, Aryan Khanna declares, “No matter I’m at present, I’m due to my followers.” This sentiment displays Shah Rukh Khan’s personal emotions, the place his damage stems from disappointing his followers fairly than merely shedding on the field workplace. “However my disappointment isn’t a results of my failure on the field workplace. I really feel actually unhappy when I’m unable to ship one thing to so many individuals who I’m emotionally essential for. I’ve seen too many failures to get disturbed. However sure, the disheartening a part of failure nonetheless hurts,” he admitted.
In a time when the very concept of stardom is up for debate and sometimes pronounced useless, there’s no higher strategy to have fun the Badshah’s birthday than with Shah Rukh Khan’s Fan. As Gaurav places it so completely within the movie, “Woh sirf star nahi, duniya hai meri (humare).”
Click on for extra updates and newest Bollywood information together with Leisure updates. Additionally get newest information and prime headlines from India and around the globe at The Indian Specific.
