Fans make an actor a superstar- a line that is harped several times in Manish Sharma’s latest film ‘’Fan’, featuring Shah Rukh Khan. Perhaps. Because an actor becomes a superstar not just because of his talent or the kind of films he does, but also for the immense popularity that he earns over a period of time from his admirers.
*Disclaimer: This story has spoilers. In case you haven’t watched the film yet, please come back to it later
But to what extent should one go to prove one’s love and loyalty towards your favourite actor? Is obsession over a star unnecessary? SRK’s latest film highlights brilliantly a very scary side of fandom. Where the ability to decide what is wrong and what is right gets blurred. And aggressive behaviour takes precedence – just to prove one’s loyalty. And that is dangerous.
The film has Shah Rukh Khan playing double roles- one that is close to what he is in real life, a Bollywood superstar called Aryan Khanna. The other has Khan, in heavy prosthetics, playing a fan of Aryan Khanna, called Gaurav Channa. Gaurav, like many others worships Khanna, considers him God and devises ways to go to Mumbai to meet his favourite actor for just five minutes. But things take a dangerous turn once Gaurav reaches Mumbai and meets Aryan Khanna. From an ardent admirer, Gaurav suddenly turns a fanatic.
Gaurav’s obsession with Khanna is of extreme measures and it does send out a very clear message that nothing in extreme is good. And that’s something that we all can learn from the film. Overdoes of anything or anyone can be hazardous- not just to oneself but also to the other person.
I’ve been told that the way we worship our stars and cricketers is unmatched in the world. No other country makes their cricketers or film stars attain demi-god status. Of course, fanatics and fan frenzy is common every where, but the number of people who can sacrifice their life (literally) in India is far too many.
Take for example the Raipur based homemaker, who decided to commit suicide because she was upset over the news of TV star Pratyusha Banerjee’s suicide. Or the fan who died of a heart attack during the World Cup Twenty 20 match between India and Bangladesh because he couldn’t handle the tense match that it was. Or the time when Kannada superstar Rajkumar died, distraught fans took to the streets of Bangalore to mourn and riot like situation occurred. Why do we have to make this the most important aspect of our life? Appreciating and liking someone’s work is natural but how can one take pride in simply being someone’s fan?
I have to admit that our fraternity, the media also plays a key role in creating hype around celebrities. Headlines like “How big a fan are you of Salman Khan? Take this quiz to find out’? ‘Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan to clash, who will reign the Box Office?’ and similar such news somehow egg fans to pick sides, to choose between the two and take it like a competition. But it is not. One can watch both films and love or hate both of them.
So many times, we as journalists are abused and called ‘prestitutes’ for speaking our mind about a particular celebrity or a film. I may be a SRK fan but I have the right to criticize his film if I feel it is not good. That does not make me less of a fan. And no, I am not paid to by the ‘other Khans’ to speak my mind. You don’t always necessarily have to pick a camp. Being a fan of SRK and speaking well about Salman’s film will not harm SRK in any which way. You are not being disloyal to him by praising the other actor. And that’s what we all resort to most times, sadly.
Right before the climax of the film, Aryan tells Gaurav that they both come from similar backgrounds but what sets them apart them both is the hardwork that Aryan has put to attain the superstar status while Gaurav’s sole ambition has just been to follow, copy his favourite actor. If Gaurav really wants to make an impression, he should carve his own path with talent that he has, advises Aryan.
Abusing and intimidating others to like who you like is not loyalty. On the contrary, it just embarrasses the star, much like how Aryan is of Gaurav in the film. Who would want to associate oneself with someone so extreme- it is scary to the say the least.
There is a very thin line that demarcates love from obsession. And somehow a lot of us tend to blur the lines. It’s okay to be critical of someone we love, it is okay of that person doesn’t give us undivided attention. We can love our stars be neutral about their rivals too. And 'Fan' puts that point across brilliantly.
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