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| MY
NAME IS KHAN MOVIE REVIEW |
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| Review
by : Harish V |
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Starring:
: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Soniya Jehan, Jimmy
Shergill.
Direction:
Karan Johar
Music:
Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani,
Loy Mendonca.
Production:
Dharma Productions, Fox Star Studios, Fox
Searchlight Pictures, Red Chillies Entertainment |
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After
scrambling from one theatre to another
and constantly under the glare of the
police squad who have secured the movie
arena, finally the tickets were issued.
Amidst lathis and guns on some, a lucky
few were able to see the Baadshah of Bollywood
uttering 'My Name is Khan and I am not
a terrorist'. The journey and travails
of movie fanatics to get a ticket in Mumbai
would have been equally interesting as
the autistic protagonist's journey on
screen. But the pains would look meagre
if the movie was as brilliant as it promised
to be.
Karan always has an urge to ask the world
why blame a particular religion when people
are at fault. His thirst made him produce
Kurbaan and now MNIK. The theme of love,
hope and belief can only make this world
tick is such an important message in troubled
times and ironically the answers to the
problems the movie went through are in
the movie itself. |
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Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan), an autistic person sees
the world through the eyes of his cultured and good
hearted mother. He believes that there are only two
kinds of people: good and bad. After the death of
his mother, Rizwan is taken to the US by his brother
and also is given a job of selling cosmetics. He happens
to meet Mandira (Kajol) a divorced single mom and
hair dresser and falls in love. After few meetings
Mandira also falls for Rizwan's good nature and marries
him. Their happy life is short-lived as the after
effect of 9/11 hits their family hard. And the series
of events which follows takes the life of Mandira's
son. Heart broken, Mandira faults her love towards
a Muslim, the reason for her son's death. Rizwan,
to prove his love and her theory wrong, decide to
go on a long journey to meet the President of United
States to inform him that he is not a terrorist. And
the rest of the story is about the hardships faced
in the journey.
Karan Johar who put up a disappointing show with 'Kabhi
Alvida Na Kehana' has taken time and come out with
a movie that surely will make his filmmaker dad very
proud. But that doesn't make the movie a masterpiece,
although it surely had potential to reach the heights.
A long drawn out second half and overtly (Johar style)
melodramatic scenes loosen the plot to a great extent.
Scenes like Rizwan talking about his dead son in a
war hero's memorial in Hindi and being listened intently
and emotionally by a bunch of Afro-American people
and that followed up by 'Hummae Hai Vishwas' song
with almost everyone dancing for its English version
was something which can happen only in Johar's world.
The time frame (from 9/11 to Obama), in which the
movie's reel events are happening doesn't have any
logical backing. When Rizwan tries to help a small
storm affected village, he is followed by a bunch
of media people and when almost 2 dozen people can
so easily reach the rain affected area, why couldn't
the affected - walk off to safety? Only Karan knows.
The climax too didn't have the impact it needed to
make MNIK a classic.
But Johar has also come up with some spectacular and
powerful scenes. And the dialogues in such scenes
can only be termed as simplistic brilliance. Whether
it is the Christian only fund-raising lunch scene
or the scene in which he is interrogated and tortured
by FBI, its brilliant work all through. The entire
episode in the storm hit village was very touching
but many such scenes were needed to make this a Desi
Forrest Gump equivalent, but it will still make you
fall for it.
Camera work by Ravi K Chandran is of international
standards. Apart from placing it as per the scene
requirement, the cinematographer has also experimented
a lot. The background and music by Shankar, Ehsaan
and Loy trio is easy on ears. Deepa’s editing
is good. Art direction by Sharmishta is worth applauding,
especially the work to show the rain affected village
is excellent.
Shahrukh Khan has indeed made a valiant attempt to
portray a person affected by autism. There are many
scenes where he seems to try all the mannerism very
stylishly which loses its focus and impact, but he
has indeed impressed in the rest. Kajol looks stunning
and has proved once again that she is the best in
the business. The chemistry of the duo Kajol and Shahrukh
is as scorching as ever and it is quite surprising
that the first film they did together was almost seventeen
years ago. Both look so good together. Yuvaan Makkar
as Kajol's son is realistic. Jimmy Shergill has a
very small role to play but good nevertheless. Zarina
Wahab as Shahrukh's mother is lovable. The rest of
the cast is also phenomenal. But why has Karan wasted
the brilliant Vinay Pathak? The role doesn't demand
such a versatile actor.
Overall it’s a melodramatic saga of love, hope
and belief which will make you cry, smile and also
start believing in humanity. A valiant attempt by
Karan - Shahrukh duo to bring about a change which
will still be possible but not to an extent they believed
in.
Verdict:
My name is Khan – And it’s a good movie
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