As I avidly waited for Shah Rukh Khan’s latest teaser of
#Fan…as Fandom had hit me just about. As the teaser and song unfolded the
famous Sonnet by Elizabeth Barret Browning sailed in my being…
“If thou must love me,
let it be for nought except for love’s sake only!” If every Fan were to
read these lines and etch them in their hearts things would be rosy always for
them and their object of love…for the Love Story of a Fan always almost is a
sacred private affair between their Icon and themselves.
It’s Akin to any and
every Love Story that always walks in almost any one’s life except that in most
cases it takes two to tango but here in the world called Fandom it is only one
person super active and fertile with imaginations ripe…It is an interesting
phenomenon that Shahrukh dares to broach…but in his inimitable style adds his
own modern take and content!
My Heart romped as the looney toon cute Gaurav Channa broke
into an ecstatic “Jabra Fan Ho Gaya!!” …I know the feeling of that Classic
Connection and wanting to Celebrate!!! When he euphorically and naively states…he
will give a jhappi to his Icon and
give his Trophy to His GOD THE ARYAN KHANNA…
I stood with a lopsided smile and a sigh…hmmm…another one
living in the “Delusion of Grandeur”
of being the only one. Still my heart crushed and mashed at the flabbergasted,
crestfallen realisation on his face when he is amongst the Mob outside his
Icon’s Residence. It puts one in stage of Denial and aggression for not being
recognised…for up until Now his imagination plinth had only him and the ICON
and the other ones who laughed and mocked…they just had to be fended off…they
did not share the admiration...in fact infused his loyalty even more in
Defending…but Now he has to Leverage against a horde…claiming to be his “Jabra
Fan” and another Important Force the ICON…who is idolised so far…when he says…
“You are not my fan!”…ohhhh…The earth could crumble and
swallow open …the delicate, fragile veil lifts and splinters go far and wide…in
most cases…Fan would get into disillusionment…feel hurt and withdraw from any
further activity…if on media may go around spewing venomous comments and
abuse…and then be lost in the crowd of ever changing kaleidoscope of myriad
options this world is…Rarely goes One to the path of Vindicating…or
Revenge…Rarely…and the movie focuses on the very Rare one…
How it unfolds is yet to be seen…how the Fan from a small
town acquires almost Super human power to jump from rooftops…or become a threat
enough to the Icon for him to merit a Press Conference…and warn about the
impending Disasters…question is why would a Fan who will see no wrong in their
Icon as to turn against and declare… “Gaurav he toh tum ho…varna nahin…”
I have been a Fan too…but I went forward to do something
that will contribute to his (the star’s) well-being…why would I cross that line
as to push the Icon to the line where the feeling is…YOU ARE NOT MY FAN…!!!
It is entirely our own responsibility to Adore and admire
someone…why shift the mantle of acknowledging it and feel indebted??? Tricky
Debate…Without a Fan …star is nothing…and in front of so many...now a FAN IS
NOTHING…Most accept that…what happens when one does not…hopefully the film
shall bring answers and entertainment for all its Fans…
Years back a movie by Hrishida
also dealt with Jaya Bhaduri’s fandom for Dharmendra that overrode her sense of
reality and benevolent icon had to step in to sort of wean her out…Things were
simpler then for the Icons… They existed in newspapers and screens and a distant
dreamland called Mumbai.
Reaching them was unheard of or not ever considered…all one could strive for was to write in a
letter…very rarely was one clicked with their Icons…they just had to make do with autographs…Today in the world of connectivity its Selfie time and every single one wants a Selfie with their Star… it is much more complicated…complex…layered with debate that can storm the nation for a while…
Reaching them was unheard of or not ever considered…all one could strive for was to write in a
letter…very rarely was one clicked with their Icons…they just had to make do with autographs…Today in the world of connectivity its Selfie time and every single one wants a Selfie with their Star… it is much more complicated…complex…layered with debate that can storm the nation for a while…
I grew up on stories with girls marrying with the photograph
of Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan…people writing letters to their icons with
blood to convince them of their love…desperate measures I would say…
One wonders why would one individual resort to hurting self
to please someone. What makes them think that this should put the Icon in debt
to return their feelings??? And how would that Icon handle several blood soaked
missives landing up at his doors???
This tangled tangy relationship ought to be analysed a
little I would say…To be a Fan is a soft and dreamy feel…let us see the various
stages that it might envelop you…
CONNECTION STAGE:
A person sees their
Icon…be it a cricketer…film star... singer…Dancer…and instantly feels
connected. He or she likes what he sees and wants to repeatedly connect again
for the heady feeling it gives. It grows steadily as maybe an aphrodisiac “feel
good” high. Each time the icon appears before them, in front of them…most often
their TV sets or Film screens it lights up their hearts…puts a twinkle in their
hearts…buoys their spirits and soothes their nerves. It’s a cocoon that wraps
around and creates an entirely different realm where none exist except them and
their Icon.
WOOING STAGE:
This is the stage where viewing on Television increases. Now
there is YouTube and other Avenues where repeat viewing is abundantly
available. Make no mistake when we say wooing…it’s all one sided and ever
expanding into every Zone of the individual. A fan now openly proclaims their
affection for all and sundry. Pictures are collected from whichever corners
possible.
Newspapers…magazines…in our times we had postcards of 50
paise each…we traded and bartered home works and lies over this…Today Fans have
Twitter…Facebook…Instagram to follow and vie for latest pictures and day to day
life events actually doled out to them in minutest precision. No place is safe
for the Icons these days…and it is the Fan’s delight to get their pictures in
every hue possible for increasing their ever expanding collection which they
can flaunt to claim their “JABRA FANDOM”
EUPHORIC HAPPINESS:
A breezy happiness pervades the Fan for it has brought in a
flavour of Love with it. Each one sings “Main
Jabra FAN Ho Gaya!” and goes about life imitating as much as they can in!
Clothes…habits…actions from their popular phases…A perpetual
smile plays on their faces and countenances all the time. They TALK mentally to
them, share their frustrations…ups and downs...long drawn conversations in
front of their Object of love. Any hurt seems to be absorbed by the ever
smiling face of the collected pictures or huge posters around them if they are
allowed in their houses.
The Fan kind of Co exists with them every moment as if it
were right there with them. It is a world constructed which has room only for
them and the smiling stylish…smart and everything wonderful object of love…it
is there with them when they get up to when they sleep…Their conversations
often veer to their Fandom and often they are teased for them…
So far so good…if we were to stay in the zone where it’s all
about “YOU and ME” but Human NATURE loves to create its own expedition beyond
horizons…in Arenas best left untouched…in spaces left unviolated…for where the
Fandom loses its cosy corner and enters the Human Jungle of “Law of the fittest
surviving!” …Caution is largely written on each milestone…lucky is the one who
heeds it…vulnerable are the ones who will lose it…sometimes their sense of
self…and court depression or obsession…that is our next stage…
POSSESSION AND NEED FOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
Each FAN feels he or she is the biggest Fan alive of their
Icon and no other can rival it. In today’s time there are ways, so they look
for it…try to reach to their star and declare “I am your Jabra Fan” and want to
be declared “Jabra Fan” by all. Sadly and contrary to their belief they are
just a vast sea of humans claiming the same with their wares out in the
open…
Some write poems…some make paintings…some make picture edits and collages…some make merchandise of their stars…some even down South in our country have temples dedicated with daily prayers offered…
Now in these Modern times and easy connectivity, temples of
Stars are replaced by a new phenomenon called “FANCLUBS” made and maintained to
offer the daily dose of Hero worship. The rituals used are Tweets…Facebook
updates…Instagram edits and collages on important days of worship like movie
release…award functions…show appearances...there are special “Trends” offered
and created. Longer the trend more popular is the Star, more popular the
“FANDOM”!
The fan clubs pride themselves in their power to show support
to their chosen Icon and God forbid those who dare to speak even a word against
the coveted God…public bashing and outright verbal abuse will rule the Media
handle for a long long time…for at times the Fan Clubs come to identify the
Star they subscribe to...it is a status of being a Semi God given to them…and
if the Icon is available than there is a war footing preparations to get a
like...reply or comment from them…
The reverence has reached worship levels…where whether or not
it is solicited or accepted, it becomes the need to offer…offer tokens of
love…offer words of praise…which often will go unheard…not because they have no
ears but in the cacophony of Jabra fans it is a huge Din…and it is a dissolved
whoofff which dies its own death…the myth that one is a Jabra Fan hits one
harder and stares in their faces with biting and anguished heart break…and they
refuse or get on the denial stage where
they have to get in person meet with their Icon and somehow change the
reality…Zones best left untouched…for the FAN ought to know something…
This person you idolised is a Human…with
flaws…imperfections…with pressures that cannot be shared…schedules that have to
be met…tasks that have to be carried out…spaces that he or she cannot give
you…so it broke my heart to see Gaurav…break down with “Esa mat bolo…kya mujhe
aapke paanch minute bhi nahi mil sukte??”
Yet there was a poignant pause in my reasoning to say wait a
minute…is he at fault here somehow?
Fans do so much for their stars!!!
True; without Fans a star’s popularity cannot be complete.
They need them to come in the theatres or cricket grounds to invest in
them…but,
Have they not worked the entire probably year off practicing
for that film…practising for that Match…for that song…dance…that is what made
you the fan now did it not??? You spend money to watch them…they spend efforts
to create a happy package for you…why do they owe you more than that???
Fans love them so much they want to know everything about
them…
When we create an account on the media we tend to keep our
profile only for friends…when we celebrate festivals we invite only our near
and dear ones…do we call the entire colony or the complex??? But when we gather
around their house in a crowd are we not invading their privacy???
Do we want
to not have a breath taking view of our balcony??? But do we not deprive the
stars from doing just the very thing??? Do we have a right to create House
arrest kind of situation for them???
You do not ever wish to divulge private details of your
wife…son…daughter…husband…then why do we hound them for their numbers and pictures
inside their house or in their private moments…want to know why they are
divorcing the spouse or dating someone??? Would we give out those details or
discuss those matters…with strangers…?
No one loves you more than me…I am your Jabra Fan…I do so
much for you…
“Neither love me for thine own dear pity’s wiping my cheeks
dry!” appeal to pity and tears is the worst manipulative device to hold a
person captive and resentful. The person out of guilt shall not be able to hurt
you openly and yet will hate you secretly for that power you exercise…
Give me your five minutes only….
When a child goes out to play we remind them…Do not ever take anything
from a stranger…do not speak to people you do not know!!!
Yet we expect this individual to simply accept a person proclaiming to
be a Fan and take whatever he offers you in adulation with complete trust and
reverence…Did he ask for it??? Did she need it???
Was he or she there when you did it??? Whatever you did out
of being the Jabra Fan is the need you had within yourself towards pleasing
someone you knew nothing about personally…sometimes your friends too do not
realise what you want and end up with gifts you do not like…but simply because
this Icon is in the Public Arena…as a Celebrity…it is blindly expected they
take whatever you offer…and even make provisions to declare that they are
suitably pleased…
So if Aryan Khanna and Gaurav Chandna were to talk this, is
how it could go:
Gaurav: Main aapka Jabra fan hun
Aryan: Dhanyavaad aapne meri
kala ko saraaha…usko samjha. Aage bhi aap mujhse ese hi pyaar karte rahe ummeed
karta hun…
Gaurav: Maine aapke liye kuch
kiya he jo duniyaa main koi nahi kar sukta!
Aryan: Aap mere liye itna kar
rahe he, thank you firse!
Gaurav: Lekin aapko meri
parvaah nahi…aapne mera phone nahi uthatya jab mene aapko film ki badhai deni
chahi…subah ke saat baje sabse pehle uthke mene phone kiya tha!
Aryan: Meri shooting raat ko do
chaar baje tak chal rahi thi bhaiii…
Gaurav: Kya mujhe aapke paanch
minute bhi nahi mil sukte???
Aryan: Dost mere paanch
minute mujhe khud nahi milte aapse kya bahas karu??? Main bhi chahta hun kabhi
paanch minute aankhen mund kar kuch naa karu…pur ye paanch minute hi mere hisse
nahi…aapko kaha se laake du???
Gaurav: Ye itne logo se toh
aap milte ho roz mujhse kyun nahi???
Aryan: Inhe main jaanta
hun…vo mujhe...mere paanch minute par unka huqq he jo mere he…aap mere liye
ajnabi…kyun du main vo paanch second bhi???
Gaurav: Hum fans nahi toh aap
kuch bhi nahi…kaun chillayega aapke liye..kaun twitter pe trend karega aapke
liye…Hum hain toh tum ho…
Aryan: Dost uske liye main din
raat ek karke apni adakaari pesh karta hun…jo muskaan ya aansu aap dekhte ho…jo
sur aapko choo jaate hai…unke liye hum ghunto mehnat karte hain…sirf aapke
liye…hum rote hain apke liye…hum hunste he aapke liye…aap jiisse pyar karte
hain vo sunahre pardon par he…main nahi…is paar ki ye zindagi meri hain, aapki
nahi…
YOU KNOW THE ONE WHO HAS WALKED THE PATH TO POSSESSION WILL SAY STILL…
Esa mut bolo…
…for each one of us decides what lines shall we cross…what
lines shall we maintain…true Fans make a human God…but he does not become God…he
is still a mere Human…
Fans would continue their inner Fairy land…the zone will
remain glossy, pretty and untangled…
Love them…adore them…talk to them…compliment them, in your
inner world and if you are connected on media handles…through your
creativity…without the sense of competition or without the Grade card expectations
from the Star himself or Herself…you will live happily Ever after…else you will
turn the very icon who was your Raison d’etre…bitter and embarrassed…
Choice always was and is Ours…
“But love me for love’s sake, that
evermore,
Thou
may’st love on, through love’s eternity!”
-By Sonnal Pardiwala
© Sonnal Pardiwala. All Rights Reserved.
*The writer claims no rights over the images used in this post.
