I went into ‘Fan’ with a great deal of trepidation, wondering how Maneesh Sharma’s new film would play out: a Bollywood superstar playing a Bollywood superstar AND his biggest fan could either be a multi-layered meta delight, or just plain icky.
I am happy to report that ‘Fan’ is a triumph. Shah Rukh Khan is played to all his strengths, and he plays it just right, gliding in and out of the star and the fan, creating distinct identities and outlines in one scene, and blurring the lines just so in the next. It is a wonderful, grasping, knowing performance, the actor and the star all rolled in one, all at our service, even as they service Shah Rukh Khan’s stratospheric stardom.