#Fan (A short review starts after 25 lines of an obligatory note) My fondness for him is something I am very open about and if you have known me even remotely you know when it comes to publicizing his movies or defending his actions, I have considered it my responsibility. Yet, over the past 4-5 years even if I have done my “fan” duty of watching his films on the first day, tagging friends and family along, etc, I just could not tell people to do the same. Even if I did, it was you know, not whole-heartedly. The excitement was just not what it used to be. “For how much longer will I argue that he’s the same man that did Chal De or Swades, let alone DDLJ, KKHH, etc,” I wondered.
Being a fan is not easy. Haha. In my own right, ‘Fan’ and perhaps ‘Raees’ were the last chances I would give him. No more “Please watch his movie guys”, “It is a commercial film that’s why!”, “At least the songs are nice!”. I had decided not to talk about his movies again unless I felt they deserved to be watched. Which is why this is so important. REVIEW Let me start by just saying that I did not come out of the theater with a smile on my face. And you wouldn’t too. Don’t expect the dancing around the trees, romance through eyes or songs that pep you up. The film doesn’t touch these things even remotely. It is a brisk paced, well written emotional story which takes the shape of a thriller as it moves forward.
The direction is mature and Maneesh doesn’t even for a moment take it casually. There are a couple of ‘a bit too long’ chase sequences, though. Apart from that, this is all about a performance unlike any other by the lead actor. You wouldn’t even feel that the same guy is playing both the characters. Such is the brilliance. But the problem is that people will complain that it wasn’t the entertaining joy ride they wanted. Or why the film is such an emotional rollercoaster? I don’t see a lot of happy faces after the end credits role but I can assure you that there will be plenty of satisfied faces. Especially, if you are his fan. This is not the best film of all time, maybe not the best film of even 2016.
But it is his best film in the last 5 years. A film that a fan like me can cherish and watch again
