4 more days left to Fan!  It’s TOO LONG.  I’m going to DIE.  Although, not as long as between Om Shanti Om and Rab Ne.  I actually got into a conversation with a stranger on the bus once about how frustrating that was.  Anyway, to try to alleviate the AGONY of waiting, I am also going through Shahrukh’s filmography looking at related roles.  Saturday, Billu.  Sunday, Asoka (although that was more about meeting the royals), and today, Om Shanti Om!

So, in Billu, I was struck by how lonely and isolated Shahrukh’s star character was due to his sort of over-humanness.  He was above human connections, he couldn’t have love, or friendship, or anything.  But in Om Shanti Om, he is too human.  Constantly surrounded by his female entourage, his doting parents, his sycophant directors, he has never had to grow up.  He feels almost asexual (despite “Dard-E-Disco”), because he feels like he has never really grown up, like we are watching a 4 year old dressed as a man.  This is the other side of stardom, where instead of constantly giving of yourself to others, you are constantly taking from them.

(Yes, I am saying this is asexual)

Which is why it is so important that we get the 2 Shahrukhs in this movie.  Well, really 3 Shahrukhs.  There is past Shahrukh, the junior artist, who gains strength and inspiration from his visions of stars and stardom.  And there is present Shahrukh, who gains strength by living off other’s dreams of him.  And then, finally, there is the Shahrukh that combines the two, the one who has a full awareness of the power of stardom because he has been on both sides of it.

“Dard-E-Disco” is awesome, of course, but I actually find this the sexiest moment in the film, because it is when he for the first time realizes and accepts his star power.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-COUsOYm_U

(Now, this is sexy!)

Actually, this 3rd Shahrukh appears before, in the past, when Shahrukh has his heart broken and learns to set aside his idealistic vision of stardom, of his beloved Shantipriya as a perfect ideal who can be all things to all people.  Instead, he has realized the price of stardom, that stars are real people who must constantly set aside the real concerns for the sake of their followers.  And, because it is a Farah movie and her songs are her best bits, she shows this change in another song sequence.

(Noble solitary heartbreak=sexy even with sideburns)

But before this past Shahrukh can really live with his realization, before he can really reach his potential, he dies.  And then is reborn with the same sense of innocence and wonder he had before, only now it is wonder at his own stardom instead of at others.  And that wonder leads him to very unpleasant behaviors and selfishness.  Only, once his past life comes rushing back to him, so does his maturity.

He determines to not just avenge Shantipriya, but to be a better son, a better actor, a better star, really.  It’s not that he suddenly remembers his lost love, it’s that he suddenly remembers his whole life, what it was like to be a striver dreaming of stardom, gathering strength from the huge pictures on hoardings and imagining himself dancing with the biggest stars of film.

(Another song!  Boy, Deepika’s dancing has really improved, hasn’t it?)

Which brings me to my hopes for Fan!  So far as we can tell from the trailer, he’s not the best star in this.  He doesn’t want to give of himself to his fans, or realize their symbiotic relationship.  And then having Other Shahrukh be a crazy creepy stalker probably won’t help with that problem!

But I hope there is a similar realization to what he has in Om Shanti Om, a sort of Scrooge-post-the-Spirits moment, when he resolves to be a better star than he has been before, to be truly grateful for and aware of his fan’s sacrifices.  And, if it is a really good movie, there will also be a moment when the fan realizes the stars sacrifices, how much a fan has to constantly give of himself to others.