When one of our friends first saw the trailer of Shah Rukh Khan's last release Dilwale, she groaned. "Not again!" While watching the film today, she was too engrossed to care about the munching. She lost herself in the world of GauravChandna, whom she kept defending to us while everyone around kept murmuring - "What a creep!" The box office fate of the film is irrelevant because in this one attempt, SRK definitely has won back his die-hard fans. Just with his sheer effort of making something that any mainstream superstar would never imagine risking, he has redeemed himself.
Fan is different for him. His dedication is hard to miss. As Gaurav, he is flawless. As the superstar Aryan Khanna, he is flawed. No matter what Gaurav does, you are compelled to believe he is faultless. You want to be his counsel, reason out his actions. It is not often that one of his King Khan's characters overpower him in a film, but Gaurav does. Despite being outrageous, incorrigible and sometimes silly, the film belongs to him.
Right from the first frame, director Maneesh Sharma's world tempts you. Gaurav is a regular Dilli Ka Launda who harbours big dreams. He wants to meet his favourite superstar, gift him his own 'Best Actor of the Colony' trophy, show off about his ooh-la-la moment and move on. Bas itna sa khwab tha... But meeting India's biggest superstar even for a few minutes is impossible. The fan manages the feat by using some cheap tricks and illegal ways. The superstar is miffed. Heartbreak is inevitable.
For the first hour of the film, Maneesh keeps the story moving smoothly. But it eventually suffers from over-plotting and a grievous lack of logic. Would you believe a superstar could be arrested in a foreign land and denied his lawyer for a day? There are many such silly instances in the film that you'll never buy. But Maneesh doesn't seem to care. His faith on his material is moving. Gaurav uses his Aryan Khanna-ish face to his advantage. In a matter of days, Aryan loses his good name, his stardom and the mudslinging damages his career of 25 years.
Sharma's story is simple but his execution lacks certainty. It looks like thriller, feels like drama and ends up looking contrived. Definitely, there are moments that will tear you up. Treat yourself to a cupcake if you don't choke up at the scene when Gaurav sees Aryan for the first time. But Maneesh never makes Aryan half as charming or affable as Shah Rukh. Neither does he have King Khan's wit, his cocky attitude or his spunky arrogance. Aryan is flat and he is only as much as SRK makes him.
But Gaurav comes straight from Maneesh's heart. He is adorable. His love is overwhelming. Even when you hate his guts, you want to loathe his actions, you can't do it well. Doff your hat to SRK who gives him that evil streak withoutvillainifying him.
But the film exhausts you eventually. There are far too many similar looking chase sequences. If the Chase-Breathe-Repeat doesn't disappoint you, the shabby editing will. And no matter how novel the film seems, the final sequence is picked up straight from Darr. The good thing is that SRK's passion hasn't changed one bit. He still is as earnest, his eyes twinkling with the spark of a newbie. Probably that is the stuff superstars are made of - relentlessness. The plague of the second half does its best to mar the noble intentions behind the movie, but eventually SRK saves the day.
Never in your wildest dream would you have imagined the country's top superstar to pick up a role that could easily destroy his image. He could be misconstrued but looks like he has freed himself from the unnecessary pressure of box office wars. At 50, he is a new man who has lived his dream, become the legend that he sought out to be. His mantra now is to work towards recreating himself. Remember the television actor, who wasn't even the male lead and debuted in Bollywood playing second fiddle to an established superstar? Remember how he played negative roles twice over in his first few films...
In his chase to becoming the Badshah, Khan left behind that young boy from who came out of Delhi's tang gullies... who wanted to the rule the world. The King is now back to pick up from where he began and looks like the fan child of cinema in him, will walk beside him, henceforth.
We rate the film a 70%
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