Thrillers about obsessed fans are nothing new; you may remember Michael Biehn stalking Lauren Bacall in 1981's THE FAN, or Robert De Niro stalking Wesley Snipes in 1996's THE FAN. Director Maneesh Sharma's new film FAN takes a unique approach to the subject by having the same actor play both the obsessed fan and the celebrity they are obsessed with.
Makeup and CG effects allowed Shah Rukh Khan to play the dual roles in the film, and judging from the trailer, which can be seen below, this Bollywood production pulled off the trickery remarkably well.
FAN follows
Gaurav, a twentysomething young man whose world revolves around the mega movie star Aryan Khanna – or God, as he refers to him. From Delhi, young Gaurav embarks on a journey to the city of dreams, Mumbai, in order to wish his God a happy birthday. When things don’t go according to plan, Gaurav’s love and passion for Khanna become a dangerous obsession.
Once the "homicidal stalker" section of the film kicks in, you might expect the film to go low-key and dark, with Gaurav lurking in the shadows with a gun or a knife. That is not the approach Sharma has taken. My jaw dropped when I saw the scope of the action sequences in this film. When Gaurav snaps, this starts looking like a Bond movie.
With the trailer and the unusual casting, this one definitely has my attention and interest. FAN opens in India, North America, and Australia on April 15th.