It is a late review of the film, so I am not writing everything about it. Most of the things have already been said about the film, so I don’t think it makes much sense to revisit them. The review might have a few spoilers as it describes a few scenes in the film.
For a change we have an Indian film where a character is suffering from a disease but we don’t have any lectures, or doctors giving lectures, on how the character would behave. SRK simply plays the role and lets the people understand on their own the behavior of the disease by seeing the mannerisms of the lead actor and hearing his voice-overs. The disease was never highlighted in the film and I really liked that fact very much.
Karan Johar tried to do something different in this film while still managing to bring in the right emotions. There is lot of emotional manipulation done in the film mostly in the second half. We can see Rizwan Khan feeling the pain of losing Sameer especially in the church scene in Georgia where he speaks about Sameer. SRK delivered a very powerful performance in the scene where he had to express sadness but could not cry because he had Asperger’s. He smiles while mentioning his son’s death and yet he manages to express his sadness. We can see tears in his eyes that were not able to come out because of his condition. In the penultimate scene where he finally meets Kajol in the hospital, a drop of tear that was waiting to come out for a long time finally drops from his eyes. So, even though the film had made some sacrifices when it came to the disease, it was very rich in emotions and worked well for me.
My Name is Khan may not be a perfect film, but it is a very brave effort by the team who almost pulled off 3/4 of the movie very well. There were some unwarranted moments like product placement of Reebok shoes in the film or the introduction of the lead characters in a suspenseful way. I don’t think that suited a serious film like MNIK at all. I don’t know what was the need for President Obama’s role in the film and if it would have mattered if SRK meets President Bush instead of President Obama. Introduction of Obama’s role unnecessarily extended the time period in the film from 2005 to 2008. Also I didn’t quite agree with the job of salesman that Rizwan Khan was asked by his brother to do. I read that autistic people don’t like meeting new people, but the job of salesman is nothing but meeting new people.
Also I don’t agree much with the screenplay of the film. I don’t think the film deserved a non-linear screenplay. It was a kind of film which should have been told in a sequential order so that the reason of the journey is clearer to the audience. It is clear to those who have seen the trailers of the film, but a few years from now, for a person who is completely unaware of the film and catches it on DVD, the non-linear timeline might not work too well.
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4 comments:
Cauli, thanks for the review. I haven't read the whole tihng, neither have I seen the movie, but I will comment on this part:
"Also I didn’t quite agree with the job of salesman that Rizwan Khan was asked by his brother to do. I read that autistic people don’t like meeting new people, but the job of salesman is nothing but meeting new people."
For one I don't think any movie needs to be documentary, HW or BW, it drains out the entertainment value, and doesn't connect that well.
Second, even with aspergers syndrome, SRK's character was not like any other patient of aspergers, after all he is married, having somewhat successful life, so OFC, he is much more developed than other such patients.
And about screenplay, I will comment once I see it, but sometimes its awesome to be involved in the movie, and this is one super way to hold our audience :D
Kunal, there could have been another job where he would not interact with so many new people. But in a salesman job, he had to meet new people everytime. They could have given him another job. That doesn't make it into a documentary. It would have been more logical.
BTW, don't go into the film thinking you will be entertained. It is not an entertaining film like KKHH or K3G or DDLJ or 3 Idiots, but an engaging film like Swades.
That is presuming that his brother was thinking about Rizwaan. I think this was a result of deep resentment and the brother just wanted to send him off to do something. He did not need to be successful, just doing a job. He was staying at home and not living off his earnings. Maybe a line showing argument between him and his wife over the job would have made this a non-issue.
Thanks Cauli for the review.
I was waiting to see the movie in the weekend and then comment. But that did not happen.
I had made my comments on the screenplay in some earlier threads, and i do agree with your observations.
Overall, i am little disappointed that the movie is NOT turning out to be a success as i had expected. Better Luck next time Kadz ! :-)
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