A "Fan" is someone who looks up to someone else, gets inspired and admires the work they've done, the status they've achieved and the way they come from point A to point B in their lives through hard-work, sincerity, effort, etc. and how they can apply in their lives to perhaps become more successful and admired. Just like someone they look up to. That could be their father, mother, friend, but more commonly fans are established for folks who have more media exposure. Such as movie-stars, sport stars, etc. Due to the sheer exposure they get, the odds for having more fan-following increases.
A "Stalker" is someone who not only looks up to someone for all the things stated above, but also looks for validation from them. Or approval. However you put it. A Stalker has low self-esteem and poor judgement, and does not like their identity and might try and act like the person they admire. Because they don't have an identity of their own, they take on someone else's personality. They might pick their hairstyle, clothing style, and a Stalker might slowly, from being an admirer, slip towards unhealthy obsession, where the sole purpose is to get approved/validated from the one they admire. When someone might compare them with the one they admire, they might feel happy, instead of awkward, regular folks might feel awkward when they're compared with a known celebrity or someone else, since everyone wants to be known as themselves, not as a second someone-else. If that makes sense.
If you're still reading this, then looks like I've held your attention for quite a bit. Congrats. We both are crazy.
Speaking of the movie "Fan" (where the Fan has become a Stalker) not only does the Stalker character (Gaurav) not get validation/approval from the Movie Star (Aryan), he gets severely rejected. At least from his point of view. Rejection can do crazy stuff to regular people, for folks with low self-esteem, it can do some severe damage. And in order to get over the damage, and to make themselves feel more superior than the person who rejected them, the rejected can enforce power onto the ones that rejected them, simply to exhibit power over them, which makes them feel superior in their own mind, since they're the ones that have control now. (Pehle Fan Star ke peeche bhaagta tha, ab Star Fan ke peeche bhaagega) this shows Gaurav's hunger to demonstrate control over Aryan. Aryan is a huge superstar, powerful, and if feels powerless in front of Gaurav, then Gaurav automatically becomes more superior than Aryan. Therefore, going by the Mathematics equation here, Gaurav > Aryan if Aryan feeling < Powerful than Gaurav. Congrats, you now have a PhD in Mathematics and Human Psychology. Humor also. Take it.
Gaurav's obsessions dictate the way he makes choices. Inability to take rejection hurts his already low self-esteem and he goes back into displaying control over the most powerful Movie Star. It's not exactly revenge as is advertised, but rather authority aka power game.
From a character point of view, as a viewer, it felt the two were totally different people. But the amateurish fight sequences and the fear element were missing overall. Gaurav's character was more childish versus being a psychopath. If Gaurav's character had done more severe damage to the superstar's reputation and career more criminally, the situation would've been more crime thrilling and more true to the genre of a "Crime Thriller". Making a video and uploading on YouTube hardly counts as scary. Or maybe that scene was handled immaturely. Or maybe they wanted to not make it extremely scary for the censor boards point of view. Either ways, that piece didn't quite work as scary. Gaurav's character confused me quite a bit even though his acting was top notch as a 25 year old. I didn't know whether to feel angry with him or to feel sorry for him. There was also emphasis on Gaurav being a Vegetarian, I don't know why.
The superstar's serious character was nicely carved out as the angry, sarcastic and sometimes a vulnerable person overall. A serious role with less dialogues for the superstar was a nice fresh performance. From a story point of view, an average viewing. You won't get bored and the movie will keep you engaged. Whether or not you stay married after the movie is a different story. (That was a joke, btw). And if you've seen the trailer (check end of the blog), then perhaps you've seen the entire movie. However, acting as a Superstar and a Fan the Superstar is a challenge and SRK did it amazingly well! We know look alikes don't look exactly like the actors and that part has been taken care of really well by utilizing make up to make the actor look like a 25 year old. Extremely well done.
A similar movie was made in 1996 starring Robert De Niro (The Fan) who also cast in Cape Fear, the idea was taken in a Movie called Darr (Darr in Hindi means Fear) with the same actor then playing a stalker. Both the times Shahrukh Khan was cast playing the stalker in both the movies. I'm not saying it's a remake, a remake is where every scene and script is taken and remade in the exact same way, hence, the term, remake. Just some basic similarities or coincidences.
Both Darr and Fan – idea of a stalker – movies Cape Fear and The Fan, both starring Robert Di Nero remade with the exact same star playing a stalker is quite a coincidence. Many people are comparing the Darr character with the Fan character, that's another huge co-incidence. Interesting trivia brought to you by Vivek Chawla.
