'Rehne de, tu nahi samjhega' (let it be, you won't understand) is the last thing we hear before the curtain falls on 2 hours of director Maneesh Sharma trying to make the audiences 'understand' exactly that -- what it means to be a Fan. We are a country well acquainted with the term -- fan. Shah Rukh, Sachin, Amitabh Bachchan, Salman for us are emotions. We build temples, we pray, we fast, we celebrate this emotion. Maneesh, in his film, takes this a step further.

We have watched stars wave warmly at fans from their balconies and cars, saying a kind word here and there at sundry public dos. We have seen them interact with their admirers at well-organised corporate meet-and-greet programmes. What happens though after those few moments of engagement? Beyond the smiles and cordiality, how would a public figure react when a fanatical supporter demands more than some seconds and wants to play a larger part in his life?

Who could do this film but Shah Rukh Khan? Conceptually, the basic idea propelling the narrative of Maneesh Sharma's Fan appears deceptively simple -- that of an obsessive fan, a bit of a cross between Misery and The King Of Comedy -- and, judged from the surface, this film works like a slickly efficient Darr homage. Yet, behind the thriller-movie makeup it wears, there is so much more to Fan, a film that should be hailed for its satirical sharpness and for its subtle subversion. And it deserves to be celebrated for the way it allows the world's biggest movie star to cleverly lampoon his own absurdly, inevitably inflated legend.

Straight away, no-one does freaky with more flair than Shah Rukh Khan - and Fan proves this. The movie takes you right back to the 1990s when Shah Rukh stormed Bollywood with a stammer, a pout and hooded eyes that looked at the world with hate. Back then, Shah Rukh thrilled with his mix of volatility and vulnerability - in Fan, he does it again.

Gaurav (Shah Rukh Khan) from Delhi, a die-hard fan of Aryan Khanna (Shah Rukh Khan), has grown up watching every movie of Aryan. He walks like him, talks like him and has watched his interviews on television and read them a dozen times. He lives and breathes Aryan. His one desire is to meet Aryan on his birthday and have five minutes of his time. As an ordinary fan, it becomes impossible to break through the maze of fans to reach the superstar. Fortunately for him, an upcoming star has an issue with Aryan during the time he is in Mumbai. The said star threatens to sue Aryan. Gaurav goes to him as his fan in the hope of helping Aryan. How can anyone say anything against his Aryan!

What's better than having the super charming and intense Shah Rukh Khan in a movie? Having two super charming and intense Shah Rukh Khans, of course! YRF and Khan, who have always teamed up to come up with blockbusters, have come together again this time to come up with a thriller about the dark side of stardom with Fan, which stars SRK in a double role- as reigning superstar Aryan Khanna and his lookalike Gaurav Chandana, who has always dreamed of meeting his idol.

This movie is not just about a Shah Rukh Khan fan. It is also for a lot of his fans, who have been pining to see him the way he is in this film. After a considerable gap, the real SRK is back with a fabulous combination of two roles; one playing a young, ebullient fan reminiscent of his vulnerable younger days and the other playing the superstar that he's today, with the charisma and power of his personality all intact. The make up done by the make-up wizard Greg Cannom adds to the impact.

A double dose of a Bollywood superstar intent on pushing himself into new zones as an actor makes for a passably watchable spectacle in Maneesh Sharma's Fan. The film might, however, have yielded decidedly more than just superficial delights had the director not resorted to standard means to wrap up his tale of an obsessed movie fan run amok. The besotted admirer of the title is Gaurav Chandna (Shah Rukh Khan, with protruding teeth and looking years younger than he is), a West Delhi boy who is a lookalike of a fictional matinee idol, Aryan Khanna (Khan again).

Just when you thought Shah Rukh Khan is losing his edge, he makes a comeback. And how! Going back to his early acting days, where twisted characters gave him his big break, Bollywood's king of romance still has what it takes to give you the creeps. Though one of the better Shah Rukh Khan scripts in years, Fan is not devoid of loopholes, but it still makes for a thrilling watch. With the actor playing the two main characters in the film, especially two that are at such odds with each other, it can't be easy to keep a smooth narrative. However, Fan may just well be an inward journey for Shah Rukh Khan where his large celebrity persona meets the humble old him that represents the thousands of his fans.

I went into 'Fan' with a great deal of trepidation, wondering how Maneesh Sharma's new film would play out: a Bollywood superstar playing a Bollywood superstar AND his biggest fan could either be a multi-layered meta delight, or just plain icky. I am happy to report that 'Fan' is a triumph. Shah Rukh Khan is played to all his strengths, and he plays it just right, gliding in and out of the star and the fan, creating distinct identities and outlines in one scene, and blurring the lines just so in the next.

What happens when the object of dedication fails to respond to the demands of an obsessed fan? What happens when fanatical devotion of the fan turns into abhorrence and vengeance? And what happens when the fan -- who has revered his idol all along -- grows to be a stalker, becoming a nightmare for his idol? Hell hath no fury like a fan scorned... Does it sound preposterous or exaggerated? Not really! We've read/watched news -- even movies -- involving obsessive fans [of sportsmen and movie stars], who undergo behavioral changes and traverse paths, from being passionate to getting psychotic. Director Maneesh Sharma and screenplay writer Habib Faisal grab anecdotes from reality and serve an attention-grabbing premise on the plate, giving an altogether new spin to obsession and fanaticism.

Gaurav Chandna (Shah Rukh Khan) claims himself to be junior Aryan Khanna (SRK) a Bollywood superstar. Is it just because he looks like him? Yes! Gaurav has all his life imitated Khanna at his local Inder Vihar competitions and been a winner. On the occasion of the superstar's birthday, Gaurav decides to go to Mumbai and meet his God. While millions of fans turn up at Aryan's doorstep, Gaurav soon feels neglected. To grab Aryan's attention and meet him, he gets into trouble. When his first meet with the superstar turns out ugly, Gaurav decides to teach the star a lesson.

Gaurav (Shah Rukh Khan) is a Dilli ka Launda just like his idol, Aryan Khanna. From his childhood, he has been such a Jabra fan of AK that he knows every minute detail of his life. Though he has a cyber cafe of his own and also a one way love interest, Gaurav's only obsession is with Aryan Khanna. He wishes to meet AK on his birthday, and with the prize money he wins from the local star fan contest, he goes to meet his idol with his trophy and mom's halwa. However, as expected, when he reaches AK's residence, he realises he is just one of the millions of fans AK has. Determined to meet him at any cost, he takes a very crooked way to get AK's attention.

So, understanding a Gaurav Chanana (Shah Rukh Khan) from Inder Nagar, Delhi, who eats, breathes, lives superstar Aryan Khanna (Shah Rukh, again), can be a Herculean task. This drunk-on-Aryan 25-year-old runs a cyber cafe and has as the sole purpose of his life meeting Aryan Khanna, the 'AK Senior' to Gaurav's 'Junior'. He's not a spitting image of Aryan, but passes off as the colony's AK during the local 'Sitara' competitions. So far, so good.