IF THOU MUST BE A JABRA FAN….!!!

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…

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.