Shahrukh in double role in Fan

KARACHI: In what is probably one of the longest-drawn marketing campaigns in Bollywood, Yash Raj Films has conceptualised and implemented the promotions of its high-profile April release Fan on the idea of fandom itself. Geo Films goes to fans for Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Fan’.

Everything from the first look and the teaser to the trailer and latest poster unveiled last Friday, each piece of communication has been launched by a Shahrukh Khan lover. Besides, the studio has carried out a 100-day contest called ‘TuNahiSamjhega’ in the run-up to the film’s release where a die-hard fan of the actor is introduced to the world every day.

“The fundamental premise of the film itself allowed us to incorporate beautifully a core strategy into any kind of marketing campaign — we believe this is a film that needs to touch every fan and every type of fan out there,” said an official of Yash Raj Films.

He added that the idea was not to ring true just for a Shahrukh Khan fan. It was more about representing the broader idea of being a fan as well as the whole emotion that one goes through.

“Fan as a concept is about an emotional connect. This film is just an example of explaining that from a Bollywood point of view. We thought we should translate that completely into a marketing campaign and reach out and recognize all those fans around who are bound by a common emotion of being passionate about that one thing or person,” he said.

In case of Fan, the core community may have been of Shah Rukh Khan fans, but there was also the huge Yash Raj community to be tapped into, which was pretty huge, or groups of general Bollywood fans. Within the last genre, there were movie-goers who were fans of thrillers or of adventure movies.

In Shah Rukh Khan's words "Fan" is a special film and boasts of never-seen-before special effects. The makers are ensuring it reaches every corner of the country and so have begun booking the screens. The Maneesh Sharma directorial, which arrives in theatres April 15, is all set to enjoy a solo release across roughly 3,500 screens, however, this is what an early trend suggests and the exact figure will be available only a day before the release.

With "Fan," SRK returns to thriller, a genre he hadn't touched in a long time. The title of the film may suggest it's a regular fan-meets-superstar story, but the trailer focuses on Gaurav Chandana's clash with his cine idol Aryan Khanna. Shah Rukh, while talking about his experience essaying two different characters, said it was "schizophrenic."

"He follows the star as he feels the star is from Delhi and he can also be like his idol someday. But the story is different... To capture all that was very interesting and schizophrenic. I just hope that I have turned it out just okay," he had told

The climax of "Fan," which has been talked-about a lot lately, is apparently one of stand-out aspects of it. Film editor Namrata Rao said a fight scene towards the end of the film gave her a tough time as she couldn't decide whose side she was on.

"Shah Rukh has balanced both roles very nicely. It's difficult to play both sides of the spectrum but in 'Fan,' he's understood the psychology of both the characters really well," she said.