My Name Is Khan

Rizwan Khan (Shahrukh Khan) suffers from aspergers syndrome, a kind of autism that makes him walk in a challenged manner. Loud noises make him nervous; the color yellow freaks him out and he unable to express his emotions clearly. But because of good cognitive skills, he learns facts quickly, and becomes a kind of a Mr.Fix it- repairing broken things. When his mother dies, Rizwan moves to America to live with his unsympathetic younger brother (Jimmy Shergill) and his wife (Sonya Jehan). Even as Rizwan finds it hard to adjust to the new and busy environment, he gets a job as, believe it or not, ‘a shop to shop’ beauty product salesman. Upon being disoriented by a yellow zebra crossing and almost getting killed by a ‘speeding’ tram, his life is saved by Mandira (Kajol), a single mother who works at a beauty salon. Taken by Rizwans honesty, she buys a whole range of his products and a romance ensues between the two. Rizwan's intelligent mind charms Mandira’s young son Sameer and before Rizwan can say ‘Marry me’ for the 100th time, Mandira and he are wed. But the happy Khan family portrait doesn’t last long. It is rudely turned around by the 9/11 WTC attacks and a communal bashing incident at school proves fatal for Sameer. A distraught Mandira blames Rizwan for their misfortune and regrets having the last name Khan. Madira leaves Rizwan and he embarks on a picturesque journey through America. His mission is to meet the president with the message that all Muslims are not terrorists. Unfortunately this message is repeated so many times that the awe factor is taken out of its ‘big’ climax. Infact everything is overstated, with moist eyed characters and big music swells making too many appearances in this film. Take an autistic protagonist and put him in an antagonizing post 9/11 America. Let him find love and then ruin it all instantly by crashing the twin towers. Then kill off his son because he bears his fathers Muslim name and before Khan can stammer what could very well be 'Asparagus' syndrome, get him dumped by the love of his life. My name is Khan bears all the emotionally manipulative elements that one can expect from a Karan Johar film but some somehow manages even to nosedive into the realm of the absurd. Take the sub plot of a hurricane ravaged African American town that the hero saves and top it up with the appearance of the American president. Make that two president’s. ‘Yes. We Khan!’ Shahrukh Khan has moments where he seems to have stretched himself as an actor bringing to Rizwan a certain vulnerability that is uncharacteristic of Khan in recent roles. Yet this is not enough to hold together a film where the protagonist makes no real journey. Rizwan knows right from the start where his character will end up. Kajol looks beautiful but comes accross as unnnatural and her emotional outburts are sadly shrill and screamy. Yet, there are some great moments in the film; like when Rizwan is taught by his doting mother (Zareena Wahab) ) that one's religion does not differentiate him from another. The only difference between people is that there are good people and there are bad people. The supporting cast performs well. Besides Zareena Wahab's awesome screen mother debut there is Sonya Jehan (last seen in Akbar Khans Taj Mahal) who plays the part of Rizwaan's sympathetic sister in law with grace. Jimmy Shergill as Rizwan’s jealous brother pitches in a controlled effort and Navneet Nishan brings some genuine laughs. While the subject matter seems good intentioned and the story does attempt to push the envelope, the outcome of My Name is Khan is disappointing. Packaged overtly like Forest Gump’s ‘box of chocolates’, the myriad web of characters and sub plots suffocate under too many issues (Autism, Minority, 9/11, Hurricanes). Maybe if the writers had stuck to one or two issues and fleshed them out sincerely, My Name is Khan might have struck a deeper chord. Cast : Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan Director : Karan Johar Producer : Dharma Productions, Red Chillies Entertainment & FOX Star Entertainment Genre : Drama Release Date : Febuary 12, 2010