Prime Focus has once again provided Digital Intermediate services on Shah Rukh Khan’s latest offering Fan after their stellar work on Happy New Year and Dilwale. A thriller directed by Maneesh Sharma under the Yash Raj Films banner, Fan features Shah Rukh Khan in a double-starring role as both an obsessive fan named Gaurav and the object of his obsession, superstar Aryan Khanna.
Prime Focus’ work on Fan began as early as November 2014 when 20-30 shots of the film were tested and the final look of the ‘Gaurav’ character was locked in. The DI team at Prime Focus was led by Head of Production (DI) Salil Deshpande, and Prime Focus colourist Ken Metzker worked closely with DoP Manu Anand to perfect the look of the film.
The VFX work on the film was an indispensable part of the movie, and timing the shots of Shah Rukh Khan as Gaurav proved particularly challenging due to the fact that SRK’s face was digitally restructured to make the character look younger. Using mattes provided by the VFX house, Ken and Manu were able to ensure a realistic grade for both the live action and the VFX elements in the images.
Commenting on the work done by Prime Focus, Fan’s DoP Manu Anand said, “Working with the wonderful colourist Ken Metzger on Fan was a pleasure. His skill and talent helped me immensely during the grading to achieve the look I wanted.”
“Working with Manu Anand (Cinematographer for Fan) was a truly enriching experience, and he was on hand throughout the DI process with wisely-considered guidance and direction,” said Ken Metzker. “Grading a movie as heavy on VFX as Fan is always a challenge and we worked closely together to ensure that the overall look of the movie was consistent with the director’s vision for the film. We are all extremely thrilled about the final film.”
The DI process also helped impart more depth to the overall texture of the film. To ensure a realistic grade that worked with the emotions and story, over 500 hundred hours were spent grading the VFX plates and fine-tuning the grade of the movie.
Prime Focus, senior VP (Films), Niraj Sanghai concluded, “We are delighted to have worked so closely with DOP Manu Anand. It’s only because of Cinematographers like him that we can showcase our capabilities to the fullest. Manu is a stickler for quality and I am glad that we could live up to his expectations on Fan. Prime Focus has enjoyed a long and rewarding association with the superstar Shahrukh Khan from his earlier films like to his more recent films such as Happy New Year, Dilwale and the upcoming Raees, and we wish the filmmakers and SRK all the best with Fan.”
The VFX blockbuster Fan has been released worldwide on 15 April 2016.