Fan WatchAlong! Starting at 7:30pm Chicago Time

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Sorry, there was a total mess-up in getting us here, but I will be here with you for the whooooooooooooooooole movie now!!!

Sorry sorry sorry! Comment below, starting the film at 7:30.

275 thoughts on “Fan WatchAlong! Starting at 7:30pm Chicago Time”

  4. So I love that scene with the diplomats – who tell him he has to prove he is innocent and then he replies that he will have to be a policeman. It is so true – to both sides, they are doing him a favor and he (understandably as an innocent man) is annoyed that he is supposed to be thankful for his basic freedom of mobility after doing nothing wrong. And then the whole thing is put down to the arrogance of movie stars. The stardom supercedes the basic humanity.

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  5. In one of my analysis posts, I said that I think there is this idea that Gaurav is a fan of Aryan because he sees that same madness and passion in him that is in himself. That’s the bond between the two. But the difference is, Aryan is not essentially selfish or mean or evil. He’s determined, he does what he has to do, and sometimes he’s a bit egotistical, but the goals he is persuing are not bad. While Gaurav takes that same passion and turns it to only thinking of what HE wants.

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  8. I think I can safely say, most of us here would NEVER want to do these wedding jobs. OMG, it seems horrible. Being treated like the “help”, but also held to this impossible standard of perfection at all times.

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  9. The issue, or the press or social media or whatever seeing what Guarav did in London and running with it, and everyone taking it as fact before trial or all facts ect. Well it is still such an issue. Even in my small town, the number of people who take rumor as fact is disturbing.

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    • And as a public figure, Aryan is constantly confronted with these rumors and has to either apologize for something that isn’t his fault, or rudely defend himself. All he can do is smile and say “so sorry, I’ll make it up to you”.

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      • AFter Trump that word has lost meaning – because anything anyone disagrees with is labeled fake, including the news put out by reputable reporters. I don’t know how it is in India, but in the U.S. the phrase is ignored by all but the biggest supporters of the former president. Now people refer to “misinformation” gained from social media and non-official media sources.

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        • In India the are large teams employed by political parties that manufacture news and circulate it on WhatsApp and social media. They counter each other’s manufactured news too. Everyone is glued to Whatsapp and takes it as gospel truth most of the time. It’s why Whatsapp reduced how many people you can forward a message to at a time. I suspect these were also the people running boycott campaigns for Hindi films and you would notice after Pathaan’s hit they are now pretending to be on its side to seemingly align with the right ride of popular opinion.

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    • With weddings in particular, I remember some interview where he was talking about trying to scrap together more money for a Red Chillies film, calling around trying to get wedding gigs. I wonder if it feels less horrid doing a wedding job if you know the money is going into your business? That you have more control than that?

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  13. I really like that this is the horrible thing he does. It’s perfect, because Aryan the star being angry, or violent, that’s not going to ruin his image. But ruining the fantasy? Scaring a little girl at Tussauds, and making a teenage girl feel dirty at a wedding? That destroys the heart of what he is.

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  20. It really pisses me off that a single crazy man could ruin the whole career of one superstar. It pisses me off because the movie makes it seem so real. Once again, good movie.

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  21. I think this is where Aryan’s character has his big switch. No more hiding himself, keeping things quiet and clean, he (like a normal human) just wants to stop anyone else from being hurt. And the press and other folks still think it is just a game for him. And the weird thing is, Gaurav is the one still in that fantasy, still thinks this is all just a game.

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  24. So, she knows the second she touches him, right? And is just trying to keep him away from the kids? Ugh, along with everythign else great about this movie, this whole sequence is just a brilliant thriller moment.

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  25. Notice that the gun is under the ties? It’s such a small thing but it paints a whole picture of it being Aryan’s gun, but she knows about it because she is his partner, he is the one with the crazy sense of danger but she’s part of that too because they are a real couple.

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  26. Everything isn’t excusable, but it less evil, then when he actually goes into the actor’s own house! This is where the horror part of the film begins.

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    • Exactly! You go along thinking “it’s a game, it’s just fandom and stardom” and then you see the kids asleep while this stranger is in the house!!! I think it was structured like that on purpose, to kind of teach a lesson tot he audience about stalking? It isn’t “just” attacking a public figure, it’s potential violence to all kinds of non-public people.

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  29. I very much enjoy how cold his wife plays that scene. She doesn’t reject him when he comforts her, but this is not a “my savior! Come to rescue me!” moment. More of a “the kids are scared, I’m scared, what are you gonna do about it????”

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      • And then the government really did this. Arresting his child on false charges. It makes it all the more gross. His family really was attacked, by more than just one crazy fan. Just to you know, bring down the mood further.

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      • And there are people who claim you’re supposed to be torn about who’s right and wrong in this movie. I’ll never understand that.

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        • I think you are, until you aren’t. Like, I think the structure is supposed to make you wonder for the first half, and then in the second half go “how could I ever have wondered who was right and who was wrong? They are totally different.”

          Maybe all those people just left the movie early 🙂

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          • It’s just too smart of a movie! It expects the audience to accept a nasty difficult character is still way WAY better than a straight up cruel one.

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          • I think that is because we see some of ourselves in Gaurav and AK being distant feels like a personal affront. If I step away from that disappointment of not seeing my superstar, and respecting AK’s boundaries then he is easier to identify with.

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  31. The Aryan with Gaurav’s parents scene is just as important as GAurav with his family, I think. Aryan reacts to them like people, listens to them, makes a connection. Gaurav isn’t capable of that. Ultimately, you can look at the background and motives and everything else, but it’s about Aryan being human and Gaurav being a sociopath.

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    • I do wonder, Guarav wasn’t yet 25. The male brain doesn’t finish growing till around 25. Was he born a sociopath, or was it how things fell into place – his parents putting him first, putting his obsession first, I mean he never does have a meaningful relationship with anyone other than them. Would it have turned out the same if he had. I almost feel like the had a choice and chose that dynamic, where as true sociopaths don’t really have that choice. Perhaps not voiced well. But I blame Gurav for his choices, but still think he may have had a chance to turn it around, is perhaps the meaning of my paragraph.

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      • Yes. I think I get what you are saying. There is something there that is redeemable. But at the same time, the choices he has made by now, the extent he has gone to follow his goals, there is no turning back no matter what his parents think.

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  33. Another interesting difference. Gaurav ruined Aryan’s public face and then escalated to threatening his family. Aryan got into Gaurav’s family and he didn’t care, it was his little bit of fame that mattered to him.

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  35. While this crazy fight is happening, one more thing I want to bring up, we are all thinking of the home invasion as when Gaurav crosses the line. But before he did that, he did actually molest a young girl. And hold another child hostage at gun point. He did those things for the secondary effect of what they would do to Aryan, but he still did them. And his victims aren’t going to care that this was all part of a crazed fan obsession, they just know they were traumatized. Aryan never did that. In his fight against gaurav, he didn’t attack bystanders.

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  36. I wonder, no assume that SRK sometimes wishes he could have an all out brawl with his media image. I mean this scene would be more with his fandom, but I think he LOVES that – but with the persona he has to put on to gain that fandom, I bet he would love to fight that.

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      • Yeah I suspect that, but because I’m from a different country I can’t assume it. So I have to take it as stated. I can only really trust the facts available.

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          • I just did a quick check, WHO actually has the US at a higher rate than India. But I wouldn’t be surprised if digging into it more brought up some interesting variations. Like, I think in the US there’s a lot of older suicides (lonely old male widowers, for example), and maybe in India those are less common but younger suicides are more common? Statistics are hard.

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          • Well with the large population of India and the large denominator, I wouldn’t look to compare “rates”, they always look smaller but when you see how many people, it starts to show how staggering it can be

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          • There is the shame vs. guilt culture dynamic. In the U.S. it would be extraordinarly rare for someone to commit suicide because their percieved (but not real) actions brought shame to a family. For example someone accused of pedophilia, if they were NOT pedophiliac, would normally not commit suicide. They would commit suicide if they WERE a pedophiliac and they felt guilt about their actions. Whereas in India the shame brought to their family from a mere accusation makes it seem as though suicide would be more likely, regardless of actual guilt or even a sense of guilt. So knowing those cultural differences I would think suicide was more common in India, but once again, I don’t collect the data, and the data available says I’m wrong.

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  39. And why this ending? Putting Gaurav’s fan journey at the end with the little music? Final touch of creepiness, tribute to his humanity? Reminder that fandom can be, should be, pure?

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  42. Thank you all so much for watching this with me, and putting up with my tardiness. I hope it was worth the wait for y’all. I know it was for me. Such a brilliant movie, and one that just demands analysis and commentary. Plus, too spooky to watch alone.

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  44. Thank you for the watch a long Margaret! I’m glad I finally took the time to watch Fan on my large screen. Hope the rest of your weekend is of equal joy to the 5 year old’s bday!

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