My Name is Khan - Review

Let's begin with the title, rumoured originally to be called 'Khan' to fit in with the previous set of Karan Johar films that all started with the letter 'K'. From Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna he has maintained this for over a decade. So, when the title was announced as 'My Name is Khan', it was fair to say that something had changed. Karan was leaving superstitions behind him and focussing efforts on making something that spoke for itself.

Synopsis
Rizvan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) is a Muslim man from India who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, he moves to San Francisco and lives with his brother and sister-in-law. He falls in love with a Hindu girl Mandira (Kajol) and despite protests from his family marries her, starting a small business together. They are happy until the events of September 11, 2001 when attitudes towards Muslims undergo a sea-change. As unfortunate events unfold, Mandira has an outburst of guilt, sorrow & desperation where she decides to split with Rizvan. Unable to understand her reasoning, Rizvan, confused & very upset that the love of his life has left him, embarks on this inspiring journey across America to win her back. The film begins with him already on this journey, feeding us the history behind it through narration and flashback sequences, so when I say he is on a mission to regain his love, we get to learn of how this love came about, how this journey began, beginning from the beginning with his own childhood.

It is fair to say Khan is a common enough surname in the Islamic community as a Smith or Jones in the Western world. So when our protagonist sets on his mission to meet the President of the United States to pass the message "My Name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist", there's no need to spell it out, it symbolises a bold message. From the released trailers and footage it would be rather easy to draw the conclusion that it's a story of an average Joe, labeled a terrorist because of his name, out to prove his innocence, but in truth it's not. It's about an unconventional hero overcoming obstacles to regain the love of his life.

Some thoughts:
Firstly, I'd like to say my heart goes out to all the people of Mumbai who are having problems getting to see this stress-free in theatres. If I was out there I would still be going to see it bindaas. I stand by SRK, he has no reason to apologise for anything & should not be bullied this way by the 'supposed' government.

As the character in the film emphasises on numerous occasions, the pronunciation of the name 'Khan' requires the use of your Epiglottis and amusingly I've heard many mispronounce it even when asking for the tickets. Living in a country dominated by westerners, we often give into compromising our identities. Whether it be the pronunciation of our names, our appearance, being open about our belief systems, etc. Where should the line be drawn? This is the question that I felt this film raises.

It suggests a very straightforward and simple solution. People should only be grouped into two types, those who do good & those who do otherwise. Should people not be perceived for their actions rather than their upbringing? I mean, sure, the events of 9/11 certainly scarred the fragile fibre of the cross-culture environment that we had formed over many decades, but I'd say it's every average Joe's responsibility to try to 'Repair Almost Anything'. It is a strong and clear message, for if we all collectively don't try, what hope do we have?

The film uses an example of Rizvan to show that even someone with a disabling condition can achieve a lot, so the average people have no excuse at all. It's an inspiring tale. Some might say it's a little late to be making such propaganda / statements, but is it ever? I think the very same applies to Mumbai this very day, just on a different background, same issue.



Review
This is the best Karan Johar film to date. He's certainly matured over the years. With the aid of Shibani Bathija's bold screenplay we have ourselves here a pretty epic film. It only helps that such a film is being backed up & distributed by 20th Century Fox. Does it live up to the expectations and hype? In a nutshell, Yea' m0stly it does. m0stly.

The only main disappointment here is that it's so close to being perfect that the parts that rough up the edges really do sting. It's difficult to spell them out without getting spoiler-ridden, so I'll avoid detail, but I definitely think it could have been shorter & some events could have been better handled, for there are parts that could have packed a better punch with lesser detail & the exact opposite problem holds of a certain pre-climax event which could have been handled more realistically & sensitively. The event was arguably unnecessary, and if considered necessary, it could have been built up to better.

Another example of handling things sensitively is SRK's appearance, he only seems to be dressed in traditional garments with his hat ad such in the scenes where it is required for some drama, he doesn't normally dress this way (even when he was in India). Having some integrity here would have enhanced the point, but they did manage to get this point across with his bhabhi (brother's wife).

Intermission I found a little oddly placed. Usually I tend to see Hindi flicks designed in 2 halves. In this instance at Interval point I was wondering why they stopped, which is rare, there's generally always a good stopping point, in fact I thought 2 scenes later would have been ideal, but okay this isn't really that large an issue.

Then there are the theatre pieces. Some scenes played out as though they were independent to the film, such as the 'Funny Hair Joel and Mama Jenny' episode. The scenes work, but it felt like it was missing some gelling to the rest of the film. Having that happen seemed 'too' co-incidental. Some little justification of how he lands up in a small place like Wilhelmina would have been tidier.

It's quite likely the things I'm mentioning here won't concern you at all, but they bothered me enough to consider mentioning. As I've said above, the film is almost perfect, so don't let these comments deter you, the positive factors are far far higher than these little nuisances.

Ooh .. one final pet peeve I've always had & I'm not even sure it's the film-makers fault is 'english subtitles', do them or leave them but don't half do them. The songs lacked subtitles, and for those who need the subs, they're losing out on a whole dimension here.

I'll mention a few of the things that were good about the film now. :)
It doesn't waste time getting it's point made. The crowd wolf-whistled in the first 5 minutes as the line was delivered.. 'My Name is Khan & I am not a terrorist'. From this point it gets straight to telling us about the character, his history and the pace moves swiftly. You get to Intermission before you even know it. In this time you have learned enough about the characters and situation for you to care how the man's journey progresses.

In the latter half when the focus shifts to the actual journey, you are moved by each hurdle he encounters. Binding your viewer this way is the magic of great writing here.

The Music is entirely situational and suited for the theme of the film, only 3 songs have been integrated into the narrative, Tere Naina and Sajda in the first half bringing our beloved pair together and getting their married life kicked off respectively. Noor-e-Khuda in the latter half progressing the road trip journey of Khan. All three integrate seamlessly. I was a little disappointed to see Rang De omitted from the film, but keeping my eyes open on the deleted scenes on the video release. It's to be noted that unlike traditional Bollywood there's no lip-sync song and dance here, it's all background music, which has worked well. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy who have done the music also do the background score, which is equally impressive. I could not help but re-play the Khan Theme (Instrumental) when I reached my car.

Performances
The film belongs to Shah Rukh Khan, his portayal of Rizvan is nothing short of spectacular. I myself don't know much about Autism, but there's no denying that he has made a very conscious and effective effort to be different in this film. I noted that he doesn't make eye contact with anyone in the whole film. It's almost hard to digest that this 'is' the SRK that we have seen before. Known for his conventional hero roles in recent years, this couldn't have been any more different. In recent times the only comparison I can make to this sort of departure is Mr. Bachchan in Paa (who was equally impressive). I guess this won't affect those seeing him for the first time but it takes a while adjusting to SRK in this role. Though it is hands down one of his finest performances to date, it felt odd that he wasn't playing a superstar traditional hero.

Kajol is one of the few actresses that can hold her own in front of personalities like Shah Rukh who tend to command attention chewing up the screen whenever present & I imagine this is precisely why they are seen as one of the best pairs in Hindi film history. The pair work very well, but she does get pushed into the background a little in the latter half. There were times where she seemed to go overboard in the trailer, in the film I felt it was justified though. The supporting cast all-round were ace, from Jimmy Shergill to Vinak Pathak, I have to mention, it was also good to see for once that the American actors seemed to be decent. Even in Karan's last installment I felt I was seeing a bunch of extras that were clueless what was going on, we've surpassed that hurdle this time.

Overall Impressions
This is a large stride in the right direction for Indian cinema. It's not flawless but it's certainly well worth the watch. 3.75 out of 5.