Produced by Aditya Chopra, the film stars Shah Rukh Khan in a dual role as filmstar Aryan Khanna and his obsessive fan Gaurav Chandna, who looks just like him.

Gaurav beats up a rival actor to appease Aryan, but is instead punished by his idol; heartbroken, the fan plans revenge.

Sharma had originally conceived the idea of Fan in 2006 and recited the story to Chopra, who advised him against the challenging project for his directorial debut.

Fan was a songless film; a soundtrack album consisting of a marketing song in different languages was composed by Vishal–Shekhar and the original score was done by Andrea Guerra.

Encouraged by his parents, he embarks on a train journey to Mumbai to meet Aryan and present him with the trophy won by impersonating him.

When Sid Kapoor, an actor, expresses harsh sentiments about Aryan to the press, an infuriated Gaurav beats him up.

Gaurav invades Aryan's home in India and vandalizes his trophy collection, even frightening his wife, Bela, and his children.

[8] After serving as an assistant director in the Yash Raj Films productions Fanaa and Aaj Nachle, Maneesh Sharma read the story of Fan to Aditya Chopra in 2006.

Chopra felt that the film was too ambitious and expensive for a debut and advised him to abandon the idea, after which Sharma took up Band Baaja Baaraat.

On 16 December 2013, Yash Raj Films announced the project with Shah Rukh Khan as the main lead and Maneesh Sharma as the director.

[15] On 25 March 2014, it was announced that Greg Cannom would develop the look of Shah Rukh in the film and be responsible for special make-up effects.

[18] Though it had at one time been reported that Shah Rukh was scheduled to play a 17-year-old boy in the film,[19] Khan later denied the claim.

Ileana D'Cruz, Vaani Kapoor, and Parineeti Chopra were each considered for the role before de Sousa was cast.

[53] The logo of the film, the first of its kind with a collage of pictures of Shah Rukh's real fans, was released on 23 October 2015.

The 3-minute video later garnered over 20  million views on YouTube with more than 170  thousand likes, a record for a Bollywood film.

"[74] The Times of India rated the film 4 out of 5 and commented, "Fan is Shah Rukh Khan's triumph all the way.

[77] Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and opined, "On the whole, Fan has a brilliant first half, but loses track in the second hour, only to pick up again towards the pre-climax.

"[78] The Hindu called the film Khan's return to form and said, "SRK couldn't have found a better vehicle than Fan, both as an actor and as a celebration of the highs and the lows of his stardom.

"[83] NDTV Movies gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and opined, "Fan works for the most part because it has the fabulous SRK act as a 'young' star-struck boy.

"[84] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave 3 stars out of 5, commenting "As I left the cinema having watched the film, I found myself conflicted about my feelings.

And anyone who – like me – had grown tired and disappointed with Shah Rukh's unwillingness to step out of his comfort zone will have reason to be a fan again.

[86] Mark Kermode of The Guardian rates the film 4/5 and writes, "Shah Rukh Khan outdoes himself twice in this dual-role psychological thriller.

"[87] Sonali Kokra of The National rates the film 3.5/5 and writes, "Just for these rare moments inspired by Shah Rukh Khan's real life, you should go and watch Fan.

"[88] Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf News rates the film 3/5 and opines, "It's engaging to watch a powerful actor and his seemingly powerless admirer indulge in a twisted battle of wills.

"[89] Anil Sinanan of Time Out rates the film 3/5 felt, "A little more restraint in maintaining the tonal consistency would have resulted in a much darker and satisfying cautionary tale about the perils of fame and blind love.

"[90] Wendy Ide of Screen International wrote, "Despite the slapdash plotting, the film – taken from the point of view of the star – gives an uneasy insight into the celebrity's co-dependent relationship with the people who make him, and can destroy him.

"[91] Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter criticised the plot and wrote, "Sharma pads out the songless film with well-executed but overlong action pieces that become even more frustrating when you consider the ways time could have been better spent exploring Aryan's fascinating backstory.

"[93] J Hurtado of ScreenAnarchy wrote, "This is a mediocre film saved by the presence of its overpowered, overexposed, and overconfident star.

"[94] In contrast, Itrat Syed of Georgia Straight wrote that the film is "An insightful rumination on the codependency between idols and their devotees, disguised as a psychological thriller.

"[96] On its opening day, Fan collected ₹19.20  crore in India, the fourth-highest for a Khan film at the time.