Fan (2016) completed 10 years on April 15 and it’s a film remembered today for its path-breaking VFX and prosthetics, the ‘Jabra Fan’ song, some nail-biting moments and performances by the cast, especially Shah Rukh Khan. Sayani Gupta played Sunaina, the manager of Aryan Khanna (SRK) and in an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, the actress went down memory lane and spoke about the film and a lot more. Sayani Gupta began by saying, “The other day, we were at Yash Raj Studios (for the trailer launch of her upcoming show, Glory).
Everytime I go there, I am hit by nostalgia! I told my team that this is the same studio, Studio 1, where I met Mr Shah Rukh Khan for the first time. Then I went up in the makeup room.
It was the same room where I had so many memories getting ready and things like that. It was like a huge life-coming-full-circle moment for me to firstly reunite with Karan Anshuman for Glory after ten years (they last worked together in Inside Edge) and secondly, to be launching that show at Yash Raj, where I did Fan ten years ago. I don’t know how to put it in words, but it was so profound when you think about it.” She also said, “Just a year before Fan‘s release, we shot in London, in March 2015.
A lot of old photos kept coming up in my Google memories last month and I kept sharing them with the film’s unit and specifically his (Shah Rukh Khan’s) team. I have so many photos with his team as I used to hang around with them (smiles).” Sayani Gupta was all praise for the cutting-edge VFX and prosthetics in the film, “I think the Red Chillies VFX team is incredible. Harry (Haresh Hingorani) and Keitan (Keitan Yadav) are unbelievable.
I have been a huge fan of them since then.” She continued, “Greg Cannom, who had done prosthetics for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008), came down to work on Fan. He was a very old man who would carry his own suitcase. I remember I offered to carry the suitcase for him.
He declined the request. Shah sir looked me and said, ‘We all offered. He’s not going to give in (laughs)’!” Shen added, “With VFX and prosthetics, they achieved something that nobody in the world had managed before.
Shah Rukh Khan as Gaurav is one of the best performances ever, not just his performance, but as a performance in general. I was a part of the shoot. When I used to see him perform, I used to be like ‘Wow.
What an incredible performance’.” Sayani Gupta further stated, “He’s an innovator in everything that he does, whether it’s owning an IPL team and doing it so well or attempting films like Ra.One (2011) and Fan. His risk-taking appetite is so large. He’s one of the smartest people on this planet.
He could outwit anybody. He’s knowledgeable, he’s savvy about technology and he knows what’s happening in the world as he keeps himself updated. I can keep talking about Shah Rukh Khan the whole day (laughs)!” Sayani Gupta exulted that Fan is an example of the fact that Shah Rukh Khan strives to do something different and ahead of its time, “I still feel that it’s such a cool film, not because I was there but because what he did as an actor and also, what director Maneesh Sharma and everybody else in the team managed to do.
Fan will always remain a special film. I can’t wait to work with Shah sir again.” Finally, Sayani Gupta gave a shoutout to Shah Rukh Khan’s IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, when she touched upon this topic. She exclaimed, “We Bengalis love Shah Rukh Khan a little more than the rest of the world (laughs).” Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Sayani Gupta reveals her Glory role was special because of Bhupen Hazarika connection; reacts to fake Jab Harry Met Sejal cameo claim: “Did you see me in the film? Was I playing a tree?”